Behind Blue Eyes
by Flamedragon93
Summary: This is a modernized Gaara love story I started writing in school. Hope you all like it. The cover image was done by Celtic Water Spirit (or Rae4001 on deviantART). It's amazing and got a little cut off so to see the full thing visit her deviant page. :)
1. The New Girl

Naomi sighed as she got out of her new, black car...well it was new to her but in actuality it was used and only a few years old, still in good condition and all that. As she got out she looked around at her new school. Her family just moved to the big city of Konoha because of her dad getting an extremely well paying job out here and now they were all starting over; new house, new neighborhood, new cars, new school, new jobs, and the annoying part of making new friends. Naomi was happy she at least was allowed to keep her three dogs: Takeo the Saint Bernard, Takeru the German Shepherded, and Ai the Akita.

Naomi looked around at her new school, it was huge; four stories and a roof you could go on. She noticed everyone had their own styles to the school uniform. The uniforms were black skirts, loafers, white button up shirts, any colored ties, white shocks, and black jackets for the girls. Naomi wore hers as it should be except for she wore black thigh high socks and some fingerless gloves, her tie was red. Guys uniforms on the other hand were black pants, loafers, white button up shirts, black jackets and a tie.

"Well, here I go." She muttered under her breath.

Naomi walked into the school and wandered around trying to find her classes while looking down at her schedule every five seconds to try to not getting lost...which didn't help. "I'm so fucken lost." She muttered not having any idea where her classes were. As she turned down a hall she bumped into someone successfully knocking herself to the ground.

"Oof, sorry." The person stated when getting walked into.

Naomi looked up at who she bumped into and saw a relatively tall blonde looking down at her. He had bright blue eyes, lines on his cheeks, his blonde hair was spiked all over the place. He wore his uniform so the jacket was open and he had a T-shirt on under his white button up shirt and no tie.

In turn said blonde boy took in her appearance. He took in her golden colored eyes (reminded him of an owl), auburn hair that went midway down her back, was layered and with bangs cut so they covered the left side of her face. The hair was teased a bit and pencil straight. She wore black eyeliner and gray eye shadow, her ears were pierced three times on her left ear and four on her right (the fourth being at the top of her ear), she had on a cross necklace, and rings. He then took in her actual figure as he helped her up. she was a bit on the short side, pale skin, curvy, busty, and he noticed as she bent down to pick her stuff back up off the floor she had a nice ass too.

"Thanks." She muttered as he quickly helped her pick up her stuff too.

"No problem, I'm Naruto by the way." He replied.

" Naomi." She answered.

"Where you from?"

"A somewhat small town. My dad got a well paying job here so I just moved here."

"Sweet, what grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior."

"Me too, so you're sixteen too then?"

"Mhm."

"Cool. So this must be a pretty big change for you then?" Naruto asked; already liking this new girl.

"Yeah it is."

''Well, at least you got one new friend now huh?" He stated grinning.

"Heh, guess so, now if you're truly my new friend you'll show me to my classes." She joked.

'Ha-ha sure what's your schedule?" He laughed and Naomi handed it to him; he looked it over and grinned. "Well you've got first hour with me so that's easy enough and sixth hour." He read. "I'll show you to them all."

"Lead the way my new found friend!" she joked.

Naruto lead her to all her classes and then they started heading to their first hour together; History. As they walked they told each other more about themselves; becoming fast friends. Once the bell rang they moved a little faster so not to be late and as they speed walked they saw a guy zip by with a bunch of girls following him.

"Sasuke-teme!! Don't be late for class!" Naruto yelled after the guy.

"Shut it dobe!" He yelled back.

"Who was that?" Naomi asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha, number one most popular guy in school, ties with the senior Neji for the title of number two genius in the school -Shikamaru has been and will always rank number one since he's a super genius. Sasuke exhales in everything he does, all the girls love him-" At this point Naomi noted the bitter jealousy in his voice. "and he's like a brother to me." Naruto finished and that threw her off but she decided it wasn't her business really (that and she didn't care).

"Naruto, you're late." Their teacher stated as they walked through the sliding doors. The teacher had silver hair and wore a mask.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei. I was showing Naomi around, she's new." Naruto stated pointing to Naomi.

"Oh, you're the new student." The teacher stated checking his roster. "Alright, Naruto take your seat and Naomi come up here and introduce yourself." He ordered.

"What do I say?" Naomi asked as she walked over to him and faced the class.

"Name, what you liked and dislike, hobbies, a bit about yourself, you known." He answered.

"Um ok, I'm Naomi, um I'm 16 and I moved here from a small town, I'm nice until you piss me off. I don't really care about much. Uh, I like drawing and more morbid things. I dislike preps and most things girly, I have lots of hobbies." She told the class.

"Alright good, go take a seat by Naruto he'll help you out since you seem to already know each other." Kakashi told her.

Naomi took her seat between Naruto and a shy looking but very pretty girl with long black hair that almost shimmered indigo, white eyes (she looked blind but clearly wasn't), and she wore her uniform normal except for she wore a lavender sweater vest over her white shirt instead of a black jacket and her boobs were practically bursting out of it. She also had a violet tie and her shocks were rolled down to her ankles.

"That's Hinata." Naruto introduced; noticing her watching her. Hinata blushed as Naruto looked at her and looked down shyly.

"Hey." Naomi greeted casually.

"Hi." She mumbled shyly.

Kakashi got their attention and everyone began to work. While doing independent work Kakashi gave Naomi all the things she needed for class and gave her a run down on how things worked and all that. When the class ended everyone filed out of class and Naruto told Naomi he'd see her later.

Naomi went to her second hour (English) and found it easy enough thanks to Naruto showing her around earlier. She walked into the classroom to see her teacher was an old man with extremely long white hair. She introduced herself like she did before and was told to sit down in the back, between a sleeping boy with brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and a red headed boy.

Naomi stared at the red head; mentally drooling, his eyes were pale green/blue eyes that were void of all emotion, around the eyes was a lode of eyeliner, he had love tattooed onto his forehead. He wore the uniform how it should be with a crimson red tie. His ears were also pierced three times in both ears and gothic rings were on his fingers along with black nail polish.

Naomi caught herself staring as he glared at her and lightly blushed sitting down, looking at her desk embarrassed. When she felt normal again she looked over at the other boy. His uniform was as it should be with dark green and gray tie. His black jacket was hung over the back of his chair. As she examined him she noticed he hadn't budged. curiously she leaned over and poked him.

"What are you doing?" He asked peaking an eye open as she poked him.

"Sorry, I wanted to make sure you weren't dead, you weren't moving." She replied. He grumbled and sat up yawning then turned to get a good look at her. "I'm Naomi." She introduced.

"I heard you up there." He stated nodding to the front of the classroom where they should have been paying their attention to instead of talking.

"Oh." She wasn't really sure how to respond to that.

"I'm Shikamaru by the way." He added.

Naomi ended up talking to Shikamaru in the back of the class for the whole hour (with the exception of when the teacher came over and gave her the class syllabus and all that). They discovered they had a lot in common, they were both lazy as sin, sarcastic, hated work, smart, smart asses, and were becoming fast friends.

When the bell rang Naomi headed to her Chemistry class. When she entered she discovered her teacher was a scary guy with long black hair, deathly pale skin, and creepy, yellow, snake eyes. He made her say her name and told her to take a seat somewhere after giving her the class syllabus and everything. He defiantly gave off the vibe of not a friendly person.

Naomi looked around and found a spot in the back of the room where she could sit by herself. she took that seat and looked around. she spotted that guy Naruto had been talking about earlier and now that he wasn't running she got a good look at him. His raven black hair was done up in an emo style; bangs framing his face and spiked up in the back so he resembled a cockatoo. His eyes were charcoal black, his skin pale, and his features very sharp and defined like those of a noble. He wore his uniform exactly as it should be but with the sleeves to his jacket and white button up shirt rolled up to his elbows, his jacket was unbuttoned and he had a blue and gray tie.

Naomi then turned to the person sitting next to him. She thought it was a girl wearing pants instead of a skirt since the person had long, dark brown, hair down its back and tied in a ponytail at the tips of it, but as the person turned to talk to Sasuke she found it was actually a guy (judging by his eyes she suspected he was related to Hinata) he too had noble, aristocratic features, he wore his uniform completely proper and professional looking, with the jacket buttoned up and it also showed signs of being more expensive than the rest, his tie was black. She could tell he was rich; she suspected that of Sasuke as well.

As the class went by Naomi kept to herself and when the class ended she went to lunch. With some difficulty of being lost she found her way to the cafeteria and got herself some lunch. After getting a salad she looked around for a place to sit. She spotted Naruto sitting with a large crowd (some of them she recognized from her classes) and went to him.

"Hey Naruto, can I sit with you guys?" She asked as she reached him; slightly nervous.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Sure!" Naruto replied eagerly and made room for her between himself and the still glaring (hot) red head. She began to wonder if it was permanently glued to his face.

"Ok so, this is Gaara." Naruto began introducing ready to go around the table when she took her seat. Naruto pointed to the red head. "He's my best friend, but not much of a people person."

"I got that." She muttered.

"And you already met Hinata, she's the shy one but she's really nice and sweet." Naruto continued and Naomi watched Hinata's face flare up from the complement. "That's Shikamaru the lazy one." Naruto kept going unfazed by the blushing girl.

"I met him in English." Naomi cut in.

"Cool, that's Choji he likes food.' Naruto pointed to a big guy going to town on his lunch and eyeing sweets the others had. "That's Shino, really weird and quiet and likes bugs." Naruto pointed to a boy with spiky dark hair and shades. "He's Kiba, likes dogs and one of my rivals. We're both into sports and are currently on the football team.' Naruto pointed to a brown haired boy with odd markings on his face and almost slitted black eyes.

"You're football players?" She asked surprised, Naruto didn't look like a football player type.

"Well really we tryout and compete for most sports right now it's football, I'm quarterback and Kiba's wide receiver. Personally though I love soccer. It's my sport."

"Cool I guess."

"Anyway moving along, That's Neji the genius." Naruto pointed to the guy she thought was a chick at first. "And Sasuke-teme." Naruto jabbed his thumb at the guy sitting on his other side. "the pink haired girl and the blonde are his fan girls and cheerleaders. Sakura and Ino." Naruto pointed to a girl with short pink hair and green eyes. She looked pretty average looking, the other was beautiful; she had long blonde hair tied in a high ponytail with bangs covered half her face and blue eyes. Pinky wore her uniform normally with a pink tie and white knee high socks but Blondie wore it without a jacket or tie, unbuttoned so it showed her cleavage, tied above her belly button, the skirt hung off her hips, was shorter than normal and her socks were also thigh highs like Naomi's but white.

"The pale one on the other side of Ino is Sai and Ino's also one of his fan girls. He's an artist." Naruto continued pointing to a deathly pale boy with short black hair and black eyes while adding in her ear. "And I think he's gay the way he dresses outside of school, plus he acts funny." Naomi blinked in confusion and Naruto kept on with introductions "That's Lee, he's another one of us sporty people but he's on track and he's also in charge of the martial arts club." Naruto pointed to a boy with a bowl cut huge eyebrows, and black eyes. Naomi could tell he was muscular the way his shirt (no jacket) fit on him. "And she's Tenten, real tomboy, does most girl sports. She's also in the martial arts club." Naruto pointed to a girl with brown hair in two braids and brown eyes, she also wore pants instead of a skirt and a red tie.

Naomi nodded, processing all that new information she recognized most of them in her classes earlier. She had English with the preps and Lee, History with Shino and Neji Tenten, Chemistry with Kiba, Tenten, and Choji. "So, you got a bit of everything in this group. you got jocks, emos, goths, nerds, preps, tomboys, shy people, normal people, artists, and slackers." She stated looking around the table.

"Yeah pretty much." Shikamaru stated.

"So who are you?" Sai asked.

"Oh, Naomi. Just moved here." She introduced.

"Lazy, sarcastic, stubborn, with multiple personalities it seems." Shikamaru analyzed.

"Ah, so you're already friends then?" Kiba stated.

"I guess." Was their reply.

As the lunch hour rolled by they all got to know Naomi and she got to know them (with exception of the silent ones). when it came close to the bell to ring Naomi made a move to get up and throw her trash away but Naruto offered to do it for her.

"Um thanks Naruto." she stated surprised as he grabbed all her trash to throw it away for her.

"No problem." He stated grinning and left with the table's trash (everyone else piled theirs on as well).

Without Naruto there to break the ice it got kind of awkwardly silent. No one was really sure what to say. " Naomi was it?" Came Ino's voice; breaking the silence. Naomi looked over at Ino and Sakura to find them glaring at her. "Just a heads up. Sasuke and Sai belong to us. Stay away from them and we won't have a problem." She stated and Naomi raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" She asked and turned to Sasuke. "Is she serious?" she repeated.

"Look, just because you're the new girl and because you're pretty doesn't mean you can do what you want. I have no problem with you yet and would like to be friends with you too as long as you remember you _**can't**_ be in a relationship with Sai or Sasuke." She explained.

"Relax, I don't want your men." She responded, rolling her eyes.

"Just keep that in mind." They pressed.

"Yeah yeah." She replied uninterestedly and yawning out of boredom.

"I'm serious!" They snapped now insulted. The bell rang and Naomi got up.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat but you're a total bitch." Naomi stated walking away as a series of laughter and a round of oooo rang from the table.

Naomi headed to her next class and found her way to her Algebra 2 class. Her teacher was a big guy with black hair, side burns, and a cig in his mouth. When the class filled up he had her introduce herself again and she went and took her seat next to Hinata and Kiba with Sai in front of her and Gaara behind her.

"Hey guys." She stated awkwardly.

"Hey." Hinata and Sai greeted (a glare was her greeting from the friendly red head).

"Dude, that was great at lunch. You left Ino speechless. Few people actually call her a bitch to her face." Kiba stated grinning.

"Yeah well I don't like people telling me what to do." She stated with a shrug.

"They're always like that. Just show them you have no interest in me or Sasuke in that way like you said and they'll leave you alone. They're very territorial and paranoid." Sai explained. "They're really not all that bad though. Once you get to know them." He added.

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied.

"Still, it was funny." Kiba stated laughing.

Class began and Naomi groaned to herself. Math was her worst subject; she was horrible in it. In addition to her teacher coming over to give her everything she needed she must've called him back over for help every ten minutes.

When the class was over she quickly escaped and hurried away to her fifth hour. Her fifth hour was photography. Her teacher, she saw for this class was a women. She had black hair and red eyes. Once again Naomi had to introduce herself and then her teacher assigned her a seat after giving her what she needed for the class. The seat she was a signed was next to Neji and behind Sasuke. As she took her seat behind him she noticed Sakura and Ino glaring at her, she also spotted Lee in this class. He was on her other side so she talked to him.

"Good job pissing off the fan girls." Sasuke stated smirking as the bell rang and everyone went to their last class.

"It wasn't that big of a deal, I just called her a bitch." Naomi muttered as she headed out of the classroom.

"Well you're one of the few who actually call her that to her face." Neji stated; hearing her and walking along beside her.

"I hope Sai is right when he said they're not that bad once you get to know them."

"He is. They're a little clingy but alright."

"Ha, so what class do you have next?"

"Art."

"Sweet me too."

And with that said Neji and Naomi both walked to class together, talking a little bit. When Naomi entered the art classroom she found a red headed male teacher with brown eyes. Once again she was forced to introduce herself (though he settled for just her name) and she looked around for a seat. The class sat at large round tables and as she looked around for which table to sit at she spotted Naruto flagging her down with a grin. She went over to that table which had Naruto, Neji, Choji, and Gaara. Naruto quickly made room for her and sat her once again between himself and Mr. brooding evil death glare.

"Ha, I heard what you said at lunch, Ino went ballistic, he-he they'll learn to like you." Naruto stated grinning.

"Your bluntness should be entertaining at the very least." Neji stated.

"Heh, you'll learn I'm great with being a smartass too pretty boy." She teased and Naruto snickered with Choji.

"Pretty boy?"

"Don't get me wrong, I like your hair. It looks good on you but at first I thought you were a chick from the back." She explained with a grin.

"Nice." Neji muttered sarcastically and looking insulted.

As the class began they were told to get to work on their drawings and Naomi was told to start drawling a picture using shading and dimensions. She set to work and began to draw a scene of a figure emerging from a creepy looking forest with wolves beside the figure.

At one point she paused to look at the others. Choji was drawing a pretty good picture of an assortment of foods; almost like a feast. Neji was drawing a nature scene of a forest, waterfall, animals, and birds, lots of birds, Naruto was doing a good attempt at trying to draw a fighting scene but right now it kind of looked like he was either not trying hard or was a little below average with drawing skills.

Naomi turned to peek at Gaara's next and saw he was drawling an excellent picture of Dracula's castle, complete with the impaled enemies and creepy atmosphere. Though she discovered none of them; including herself were nowhere near as good as Sai. His art work was hung up all over the classroom and apparently he was in the highest art class offered (and one of the teacher's favorite students).

"You're really good." Naomi commented watching Gaara draw.

He glared and moved so he was resting on the table, arm blocking his picture from her view and resting his head on his arm while he drew; looking away from her. Naomi blinked in confusion and turned back to her work slightly upset.

"Don't worry, he's always like that at first. Takes him some time to warm up to you and come out of his shell. he is interested about you though. he told me last hour." Naruto whispered to her, catching onto her being upset.

"Really?"

"Mhm, wanted to know more about you and stuff. Plus- " Naruto stopped talking when he saw Gaara shoot him a cold glare over his arm; clearly hearing their hushed conversation and wanting him to shut up. "Uh never mind." Naruto finished; quickly getting back to work.

When the bell rang they all got up and made their way to the parking lot. "What were you saying earlier?" Naomi asked Naruto curiously as he walked with her to her car. She noticed Sasuke, Gaara, and Shikamaru waiting nearby, she assumed for Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused.

"Gaara, at the art table." She explained muttering "And I thought I had a bad memory." under her breath. After just one day she was already learning that not all the lights were on upstairs for Naruto.

"Oh! Um, well don't tell him I told you." Naruto started.

"Dobe! Let's go!" Sasuke called to him impatiently.

'I'm coming teme!" Naruto yelled back. "We have stuff the four of us do after school." He explained.

"Ok then." She stated still waiting.

"Anyway, promise not to say?"

"Promise."

"Alright, he had said-

"Naruto!!"

"I'm coming damn it!!!!" Naruto yelled at him again. "He said you were hot. I got to go! meet me here in the morning!" Naruto rushed out in a quick breath before running off to the others.

Naomi blinked as she watched them all go; staring at Gaara who was ignoring her and talking to Naruto. She looked down at the ground grinning and turned to her car, getting ready to go home. As she did that she missed the quick, non-glaring, glance the red head shot at her as he rounded the corner with the others. She got into her car and drove home.

When Naomi got home she took care of her dogs and relaxed in her room until dinner. Over dinner she told her parents about her day and in turn her older sister Megumi; who was a college student told them all about hers. both of them were already making friends and both found it slightly ironic that they were accepted into groups where one of them was related to one in the other group. Apparently Megumi was in classes and in a (much smaller) group of friends with Sasuke's older brother.


	2. Getting To Know Each Other

Sorry about the long wait but here's chapter two to Behind Blue Eyes! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto I only own my made up characters and my ideas.

* * *

Two weeks had quickly flown by and Naomi was settling into her new life nicely. She was becoming good friends with the new group of people she hung out with, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata were her now new best friends and it took awhile (and several attempts at revenge) but Sakura and Ino relaxed and started liking her as well. The only one she wasn't really getting to know was Gaara. Despite her attempts to be friendly he ignored her and glared at her constantly. Only on rare occasions did she manage to get him to talk to her and they were all short lived.

Still she felt a lot happier here. Her family was starting over and were trying to put everything behind them and she had great friends now (her old friends weren't so great). She hoped things would only get better and things won't go back to how they used to be.

Naomi headed to where she met up with some of her friends in the morning and not seeing Naruto she looked around for someone else she knew. She spotted Kiba and wandered over to him.

"Hey Kiba. Where's Naruto at?" She asked when she wandered up to him.

"He's with Sasuke and Gaara somewhere I think." Kiba answered shrugging.

"Alright then. So how's Akumaru?" She asked, last weekend a bunch of them had hung out at her house and Kiba brought along his huge dog. Who instantly hit it off with her own huge dogs.

"I think he misses your dogs." Kiba answered chuckling a bit.

"Well I'm sure they miss him too." She replied also chuckling.

They talked about their pets and other random things until the bell rang and then they headed to class.

Naomi went through her first two classes boredly. Talking to Naruto and Shikamaru to pass the time. Soon though it was third hour and she went into her chemistry class and took her seat. Once again her lab partner had decided to ditch. He seemed to do that a lot and Naomi was beginning to get annoyed with it.

"Gaara ditching again?" Orochimaru asked as he took attendance.

"Guess so." She answered annoyed.

"Come here." He called and she went over to him reluctantly.

"Yes?" She asked when she reached his desk.

"Go find him for me and bring him here. I need to talk to him about this behavior." He answered.

"Why me?" She complained; about to point out that several of his actual friends were in this class and they could go do it.

"You associate with him don't you?"

"Yes but we're not really friends."

"Still, you're his lab partner and you're already one of my top students. You can afford to miss a few things."

"......Fine....." She muttered in defeat and he wrote her a pass.

Naomi left the classroom grumbling to herself. "Two geniuses in the class and I still get to be the one who runs errands since I 'know so much'." She muttered. Science was her best subject she excelled in it (the exact opposite in math). "Now where the hell might he be?" She muttered, looking around and then heading off in a random direction.

After an annoyingly long search the last place she hadn't looked was on the roof. Figuring if he wasn't up there then he had enough brains to ditch off campus and went up there to check. She didn't see anyone there at first but walked around to check the other side of the roof and spotted him.

"There you are!" She exclaimed in relief when she reached him.

"What do you want?" He demanded, only looking at her for a quick second.

"Orochimaru-sensei made me come find you." She answered.

"Well you found me." He retorted; trying to think up a new hiding spot.

"I'm supposed to bring you back to him; he wants to talk to you." She explained, not backing down.

"I'm not going." He snapped.

"Then I'm not leaving." She retorted; sitting down beside him. He made no comment, only scooted farther away from her. "So why only ditch chemistry?" She asked attempting to start up a conversation since they might be there for awhile.

"I suck at science." He replied uncaring. "I don't understand it so no point in going." He added.

"Get tutoring?" She suggested helpfully.

"I don't need help." He hissed.

"Sure you do. It's ok to admit you have a weak spot."

"I'm not weak!"

"Ok you're not weak, but you are struggling. I'm the same way in math. I need help. Hell I completely bombed that last test we took."

"Am I supposed to care?"

"Well no, I'm just saying I'm bad in math."

"I'm fine in math."

"Ok then… Hey! How 'bout we do this: I'll help you in science and you can help me with math?"

"No." He replied shortly.

"Right little fucken ray of sunshine aren't ya?" She stated sarcastically and he merely grunted in annoyance. "Well why can't we help each other?" She pressed.

"Because I don't need nor do I want your help and because I don't help people unless I have to."

"You don't even help Naruto?"

"He's a different story. I mean it's your problem not mine. I don't feel like helping you."

"Jerk."

Gaara grunted in response and dove his hand into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone and flipping it open. She saw him start to text a reply to someone. She looked over his shoulder and read it.

Your annoying new friend is pestering me that's what.

She glared but then smirked; getting an idea. She watched him close his phone and snatched it; leaping up.

"What the hell!?!" He snarled leaping up as well.

"So I'm annoying huh?" She stated.

"Yes you are now give it back."

"Hmph and you're an ass. I don't feel like giving it back."

"Give me back my phone." He growled.

"Nope. You want annoying, I'll show you annoying."

Gaara made a swipe for it and she moved out of his way.

"Give it."

"Nope! Tell ya what, you come back to class with me and I'll give it back."

"Fine give it back and we'll go."

"I don't trust you, come with me first."

"Hmph not as dumb as you look." He sated making another swipe for it.

"Hey!" She snapped; ducking away from him and sticking it down her shirt.

Gaara glared and noticed her Watchmen cell phone charm hanging out of her jacket pocket. He smirked and dived for it, snatching it and hanging it over her head.

"Hey! Give that back it's mine!" She yelled reaching for it.

"That sounds familiar now doesn't it?" He retorted; moving it out of her reach.

"Give it back damn it!"

"Don't think so. Not until you give me back what's mine." By this point the lunch bell had rung but they had not heard it. They were too engrossed in their arguments to really pay attention to what was going on around them.

"No way! How do I know you'll give it back afterwards!?!"

"Then I guess we each got a new phone."

"Give it back!" She yelled lunging at him and he dodged her, smirked and dropped it down his pants.

"That's disgusting!" She snapped.

"Now I say we're even since mine seems to be hiding in your shirt."

"Don't think I won't go after it." She threatened.

"Don't think I won't either."

Both their eyes narrowed and they glared at each other for awhile. Then Naomi smirked and tackled him to the ground. Gaara's eyes widened in surprise at her latching onto him and after the initial shock of getting knocked to the ground they began to wrestle for their stuff.

"Gaara? Naomi? You guys up here?" Naruto called as he, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Sasuke came to the roof in search of them.

"Give it to me Gaara!" Naomi yelled; both herself and Gaara oblivious to the four hearing that outburst and now rushing to the sound.

"........Oh.......my.....God......" They all muttered finding them.

The four of them stared down at the pair. They were fighting but it looked like something else. They were rolling all over the place, trying to restrain each other, and so on. This resulting in them being tangled up together in a mess of limbs and their clothes to get messed up through all the movement. Their jackets were open, shirts untucked and getting unbuttoned through so much movement, Naomi's skirt was riding up from all her movement; though it was clear they were fighting the fact that made everyone think dirty was the simple fact that Naomi's shirt was half way unbuttoned, her skirt had been bunched up to the point that her legs and thighs were exposed (underwear thankfully not), Gaara was on top of her, hands pinning her arms down, straddling her hips, pants unbuttoned and clothes a mess. That and the fact that she shouted "Give it to me Gaara!" Made even Hinata's mind go into the gutter and blush.

"Uhh......" Shikamaru and Naruto sated, Hinata just blushed brightly and Sasuke was first to comment.

"So you two really hit it off I see." He commented and they both froze; turning to stare at the four with wide eyes.

"It's not what you think!" Naomi yelled; blushing brightly and knocking Gaara off her. She leapt up and Gaara jumped up with her. "He took my phone and stuck it down his pants!" She yelled.

"She took mine first and shoved it down her shirt. She started it." Gaara snapped.

"Ok then...." They all stated, unconvinced.

"Seriously, it's nothing dirty!" Naomi protested.

"Hmph." Gaara grunted and removed her phone from his pants, holding it out to her. "Now give me my damn phone back." He ordered.

"Fine." Naomi snapped back, pulling his out of her shirt and snatching her phone away from him while plopping his into his waiting hand. "See? This was what it was about." She told the four waving her phone in their faces before putting it back in her pocket and they both began to straighten themselves out.

* * *

"Well looks like you guys are getting along just fine." Naruto joked as he walked with Naomi to her car. The rest of the day Naomi and Gaara refused to even look at each other, let alone speak to one another and when they did look at one another it was quickly followed by a glare from the other.

"Shut up!" She snapped; blushing.

"Got to admit that was entertaining at lunch though."

"No it wasn't. It was embarrassing and aggravating."

"Well you started it apparently."

"You know what shut up!"

"Ha-ha, I'll see you tomorrow and talk to Gaara; see if I can get you two normal again." He stated waving as he headed off.

The next morning Naomi's sister dropped her off at school (her car was low on gas) and said she and a friend would pick her up later on after school. So Naomi met up with her friends and when she spotted Gaara he didn't glare at her as she expected but nodded his head once in greeting before turning away from her and ignoring her like usual (as he did to almost everyone else).This Naomi found to be an improvement and a step up; he was treating her like he did his other friends (aside from the few he was actually friendly with) and she smiled to herself, though she was curious about what Naruto actually said to him. Still she smiled and headed off to begin the school day in a slightly happier mood.

Hoping to avoid another repeat of yesterday Gaara decided it was best to go to class and went to chemistry that day. He walked into the classroom after Naomi got there and sat down beside her. The two of them sat at their desk in an uncomfortable silence. Both staring ahead of them and drumming their fingers awkwardly.

"Sooo.....Gaara. How are you?" Naomi asked in hopes of ending the awkward silence.

"You're not going to stick your hands down my pants again are you?" He demanded bluntly and what she suspected as humor.

Regardless of thinking he was attempting to be funny she still blushed but laughed lightly and smirked. "Only if you stick yours up my shirt again." She retorted and his mouth twitched as he fought a smirk.

"Do I even want to know?" Neji asked; hearing their conversation on his way back to his desk.

"No not really." Naomi replied causally.

"Ookk then…" He muttered.

"Move along now pretty boy. Just keep moving." She stated shooing him away with her hand and turning back to Gaara with a grin.

He gave a short nod in response before facing the board as the class began. Once Orochimaru-sensei had finished the lecture they were set to work on balancing complex equations and Gaara stared at it as if it was a foreign language. He looked over at Naomi's paper to see her breezing through the problems and scowled back at his blank paper; willing the answers to magically appear. _'Well if you showed up to class once in awhile maybe you'd have some idea how to do this…'_ the little nagging voice in the back of his head pointed out and he grumbled to himself.

Gaara looked back over at Naomi's paper again and then back at his own and cursed under his breath. Swallowing his pride he turned to look at her in the face and opened his mouth to speak. "How do I do this?" He muttered; looking and sounding like it almost caused him pain to ask for help.

"Huh? Oh! 'Kay I'll help ya." She stated eagerly and moved closer to him to help.

When the bell rang and everyone filed out of the classroom Naomi and Gaara were both held back by Orochimaru so they could be fussed at for not coming back to class yesterday. After pretending to listen to his lecture they both escaped and headed to lunch in silence (though not as uncomfortable as it had been before). They got to their lunch table and everyone stared at them as they took their seats.

"What?" They both demanded confused.

"So why were you late? On the roof again?" Naruto asked grinning and they both smacked him in the back of the head glaring (and Naomi blushing).

"Shut up! I told you it wasn't how it looked!" They both snapped.

"So why were you two late?" Lee asked.

"Orochimaru-sensei wanted to talk to us." Naomi answered.

"Lecturing you about not screwing on the roof?" Shikamaru joked.

"WE WEREN'T HAVING SEX!!!" They both screamed at the laughing table; both highly pissed now. The whole cafeteria fell silent and stared at the two (who promptly sunk low into their seats blushing and glaring) and then the room erupted into loud laughter (especially their friends) and they sunk even lower into their seats.

"Good job, most of the school now knows you didn't either." Naruto laughed and they glared darker.

"So yesterday was pretty much the first time you guys actually spent time together?" Tenten asked.

"Pretty much." Naomi muttered from her spot of nose level to the table.

"Talk about bad first impressions." Choji laughed.

"I read in a book that that kind of behavior; the teasing, is considered flirting." Sai stated and everyone started laughing again.

"We weren't flirting!" Gaara snarled as they both sat up straight again.

"He called me annoying so I was going to show him how annoying I could be." Naomi snapped.

"So you stick your hand down his pants?" Neji questioned.

"Thank God the fan girls haven't gotten that idea yet." Sasuke muttered.

Naomi tried to explain but they ignored her; talking over her. "I read that that kind of behavior signifies wanting the other person." Sai continued.

"What? No!" They both tried to counter.

"Ha! Barely even know each other and you already want to get into each others' pants." Sakura joked.

"No!" They tried again but nobody was listening.

"Literally in Naomi's case." Kiba joked.

"Gaara apparently likes to go for the boobs first." Shikamaru joined.

"You're not listening!" They both shouted; getting seriously peeved.

"Heh, so Gaara you're into the foreplay but Naomi you just want to get right to it?" Sasuke teased.

"Would you all shut up!!" They yelled and they stopped for a brief moment.

"When someone gets so defensive over a comment it implies that what was said was true." Shino chipped in.

"You shut up Shino." Gaara snarled.

"You're not denying any of it." Ino teased.

"Yes we are you're just not listening to us!" Naomi snapped.

"Ha-ha they're just embarrassed." Lee teased. "It's ok to admit your true youthful feelings." He added and everyone began laughing again.

"There aren't any 'youthful' feelings!" Naomi snapped.

"She's right." Gaara growled. "Beside's I'd never be attracted to her anyway." He added and Naomi stopped, turned and glared at him.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" She demanded and everyone started snickering. "Not good enough for you?" She added insulted.

"You're not my type." He replied casually. "Too damn loud and annoying. You're not exceptionally good looking either; a little above average, Aside from your ass anyway. And even with that you'd get on my nerves to easily." He answered indifferently.

Several others around the table snickered quietly while others sat there shocked and Naomi sat frozen; not sure to feel insulted or violated. One thing she was sure on though was she was pissed.

"Wait didn't you tell me when you first saw her that you thought she was ho-" Naruto started but Gaara stomped on his foot and silenced him. He was pleased to find that Naomi was too engrossed with being angry to hear what Naruto had started to say.

"Well fuck you too then you eyebrowless fire crotch." She snapped as she recovered from her shock and anger and glared at him. He glared right back and they began shooting snide remarks back and forth.

"And now they fight like an old married couple." Kiba joked and the others laughed at them again.

Gaara glared at them all darkly and Naomi smacked herself in the face sighing. "I'm surrounded by idiots." She groaned, sliding her hand off her face; exasperated and still pissed.

After lunch had finally ended the day continued normally until school was over. When school got out Naomi wandered over to the library to sit and wait until her sister decided to show up and get her. She sat there reading books for about a half hour or so until she got a text saying her sister would be there in a few and so she decided to leave the library and wander around in the direction of the parking lot. As she walked around campus she passed the band room and heard music coming from it. Curiously she looked at it and slipped over to the open window; peeking inside.

Naomi was surprised to find Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji playing in what was clearly a band. Naruto was on drums, Sasuke was lead guitar, Neji base, and Gaara had vocals (she found that to be a bit ironic since he hardly ever talked). She crouched down in front of the window and just watched them play. They were actually really good and she figured this was what Naruto had to do all the time after school. She tilted her head to the side as she watched him play the drums then her gaze drifted over to Sasuke for a short while then to Neji and she enjoyed watching his hair go everywhere as he played (the long hair amused her), then her gaze finally landed on Gaara and stayed there as she listened to him sing.

"What we looking at?" A male voice asked from beside her; also looking into the window.

Naomi whirled around (falling onto her butt in the process) to see a blonde male with his hair half up and half down; bangs in his face. He was crouched down beside her and was now looking at her in amusement at her surprise.

"I think you scared her Deidara." Came her sister's voice and Naomi looked over her shoulder to see her sister with her short dark brown hair, gray eyes, and perfect figure (she recalled what Gaara had mentioned at lunch and scowled at her sisters obvious beauty). Her sister was standing next to a male with long black hair held into a ponytail, black eyes, and lines on his face. His clothes were in a dark style (but also rather sophisticated) and judging by the facial structure and hair/eye color she suspected him to be Sasuke's older brother. Beside him was another male with sleeked back silver hair, oddly colored eyes, and an arrogant look about him.

"These your college friends?" She asked.

"Mhm, this is Itachi." She nodded to the guy next to her with the black hair. "That's Hidan." She pointed to the silver haired one. "And you already met Deidara." She finished.

"Somehow I figured you'd have friends that were girls." Naomi stated. "Though Barbie's twin brother here could be mistaken for one." She added pointing at Deidara.

"Hey!" He snapped but it was ignored (aside from Hidan cracking up laughing).

"I have a few. These are my main guys though." She answered. "How many girl friends do you have?" She added.

"Umm....four." She replied thinking about it.

"And how many guy friends?"

"Umm....ten." She answered.

"Sheesh and you say I have a lot of guy friends."

"Yeah, whatever. Why'd you bring all them?"

"We're all hanging out at Itachi's house. So we're picking up you and Sasuke and heading to his place."

"Oh joy." She muttered.

"What are you all doing out here?" Came the energetic voice of Naruto from the window and they saw the boys standing in front of the window and watching them.

"We're here to pick up Sasuke and Naomi." Deidara answered.

"Why her?" Sasuke asked confused.

"Apparently they're all hanging out and are dragging us along with them." Naomi answered turning to look at him.

"Hn." Was his only response as he grabbed his backpack and hopped out the window standing next to her.

"Right well let's go." Megumi stated.

"Later Sasuke. Bye Naomi!" Naruto waved as they started walking off. "Heh, fan girls are going to love this." He laughed turning to the remaining two guys. Neji looked bored for a moment and then started putting stuff away and Gaara was scowling at their retreating heads, particularly a certain duckbutt head. "Hehehe, jealous?" Naruto laughed and Gaara scoffed.

"Not even. She's a pest." He snapped; turning away from the window.

"What's with the glare then?"

"Because he left in the middle of practice." He replied.

"Mhm sure." Naruto stated unconvinced. "That's why you were staring at her." He teased.

"I was not."

"Uh yeah you were." Naruto then grinned. "And here I thought you said you weren't attracted to her." He added.

"Just shut up Naruto." He hissed beginning to gather his things.

"Heh, I knew it." Naruto continued.

"Shut up Naruto. You've been following her around and waiting on her hand and foot since you met her." Neji stepped in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's nothing like that! I don't like her like that." Naruto responded quickly.

"You're really friendly with her then." Neji retorted.

"No, I don't like her. I'm just trying to be nice and make her feel welcome. Help her fit in you know?"

"Mhm sure." Gaara quoted.

"I don't, I like someone else!"

"Oh? Who?" Neji asked now curious.

"Your cousin." Gaara answered for Naruto as he headed out the door.

"Gaara!?!" Naruto snapped as Neji rounded on him.

"Payback's a bitch." He responded from the hall and Naruto glared as he was left with a pissed off, over protective cousin.

Everyone piled into Megumi's car. It was a tight fit but they got in. Megumi and Itachi sat up front, Hidan took a window seat, Deidara in the middle, and then Sasuke got in.

"Where am I supposed to sit exactly?" Naomi demanded.

"Eh just sit in one of their laps." Megumi answered shrugging.

"What, you forgot you were picking the two of us up?" She asked.

"Well the idea of Hidan and Deidara coming over too wasn't planned." She answered.

"Just get in the damn fucking car." Hidan snapped.

"Uhg, fine." She groaned and climbed in, sitting on Sasuke's lap with arms crossed.

"Why do you have to sit on me?" He demanded.

"Because I know you and you're actually my age." She answered.

They headed off and Megumi and her friends all talked (Itachi remained silent mostly) and Naomi and Sasuke stared moodily out their window with their arms crossed and unamused expressions on their faces. As they rode on Naomi watched as they headed towards the richer part of the city. Yep she was right he was rich. Megumi turned into a housing development made of estates and mini mansions and drove through them until she turned down a street and headed to a huge estate.

"Damn." Naomi muttered; starring at the mini mansion.

"Well, you two have fun." Megumi stated as they entered the house and she made her way to the parlor with her friends.

"Wait! What was the point of bringing me here then if you're going to ditch me anyway?" Naomi demanded.

"Mom wanted me to watch you." She answered and Naomi glared.

"I'm sixteen I can watch myself." She retorted.

"Mom's orders, just deal with it and become friends with the younger of the emo brothers." She responded.

"Uhg." Naomi and Sasuke groaned together. "Fine." They both growled and Sasuke headed to his room; Naomi following.

Naomi sighed in annoyance. It was now twelve o'clock in the morning and she was still stuck at the Uchiha manor. Over the hours of being stuck with the oh so friendly Sasuke she passed her time doing homework, texting, going through his stuff, playing 20 questions (which all she got were monosyllabic answers), and finding one of his books to read and read that for several hours.

She did however discover some interesting things during her wonderfully exciting day. She discovered the Hyugas lived about a block away (and she was seriously contemplating going there and hanging with Hinata if it wasn't so late) and Gaara and his two older siblings lived in this rich neighborhood as well. She was a bit surprised about that, he didn't seem or act the rich type but now that she thought about it he did drive a next year's model of a kick ass sports car; black of course.

Naomi also managed to learn where most of her other new friends lived as well. Kiba lived in the same upper middle class housing development as she did, Shikamaru's family owned a deer ranch on the edge of the city near the forest, Choji's family also owned a lot of land at the edge of the city, Ino (who's family owned a huge flower store) and Shino lived in upper middle class as well (though a different housing community), Tenten, Lee, and Sakura lived in normal middle class homes, and Naruto and Sai lived in the poorer district in apartments by themselves (Naomi learned that they were orphans). Sai was taken care of by the city and Naruto's godfather (who was actually their English teacher) as well as the principle (Tsunade) look out for Naruto.

Naomi also learned that Sasuke and his brother were so rich due to family fortune and apparently his dad was in charge of his very own police force before he died and Itachi was going to take it over when he was done with college. She learned that both their parents died when Sasuke was seven (but he refused to go into detail and Naomi knew not to press the matter) and Itachi (as well as servants, nannies, etc) had been raising him since then.

Naomi thought as she did the math in her head. she had to give him points there, that was a heavy burden and he was a much better sibling then her sister had ever been.

'So Itachi's been taking care of duckbutt since he was thirteen?'

"So how long do your brother's friends usually stay?" She asked as she groaned in boredom, she really wanted to go home.

"Depends if they're drinking or not. By this time I'd say they're all passed out drunk on the floor." Sasuke answered in annoyance.

Naomi quickly shot up and headed to his door. "She better not be." She growled; storming out. Sasuke sighed and followed her out of the room. Sure enough they found them all passed out on the floor. "Damn it now I'm stuck here." She groaned.

"Yes I'm sure that will just kill you." Sasuke retorted; annoyed by the fact that she was staying as well.

"It might just, you're not exactly the funnest guy to be around and if the boredom doesn't kill me I'm sure your fan club will happily do the honors at school tomorrow once they find out I spent the night with their beloved Sasuke." she responded chuckling.

Naomi went into the room and grabbed the blanket off the couch to cover her sister with it. "I really hate it when she does this. It pisses me off." She muttered as she stepped back out of the room.

"What drink?"

"No; takes me somewhere, ditches me, acts stupid, gets drunk, and leaves me on my own." She answered.

"how'd she act stupid this time?"

"I'm not saying your brother or his friends are bad guys but getting drunk when you're the only girl with three also drunk guys is just not smart to me. She always does shit like this."

"Oh."

"Well I should at least be thankful that she's at a friend's house and not a bar or something. Once she ditched me outside a club and I was stuck in her car all night because she got wasted and went off somewhere with her friends. Forgetting about me and the car." She muttered.

"Why didn't you just drive home?"

"I was fourteen at the time."

"Hn."

"Dad was furious when he found out. He put her under house arrest for two month. She does try though I mean she's a good person and means well but sometimes she messes up. That was the only time she was that reckless with me. Usually she leaves me at a friend's house or when she goes to parties sends me up to the host's room to stay there during the party."

"Why does she bring you along?"

"Mom sticks her with me and when she has plans something like this happens. She tries to look after me and not have to cancel her plans but as you can see one of the two gets neglected."

"Why doesn't your mother let you stay home by yourself?"

"She does just not all the time. She doesn't trust me so..."

"Why not?"

".....It's complicated..." She answered hesitantly.

"Complicated?"

"....Let's just say we moved here to try and start over." Naomi concluded not wanting to talk about it to him just yet. "So Sasuke, got a spare bedroom in this place?" She asked, trying to change the subject and she was rather tired.

"....Follow me." He replied reluctantly accepting the fact that he'd be stuck with her overnight. Sasuke showed Naomi to the guest room and left her there; heading off to bed himself._  
_


	3. An Interesting Weekend

Well here

is chapter three to Behind Blue Eyes. Sorry about the uber long wait but here we go. Hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto only my made up characters, everything else belongs to its rightful owner. I also do not own "Your Betrayal" the song belongs to Bullet. I just have the inability to write music myself and for the sake of the story am using their music, but it belongs to them! Besides it's a good song!

Anyway enjoy!

* * *

Another two weeks had gone by and it was now officially a month since Naomi moved in. She finally felt completely adjusted to her new life and home. She had gotten used to her teachers and (for the most part) her school, she was caught up in her classes, and she was getting along great with her new friends (well most of them anyway).

It was now Friday morning and Naomi arrived to school with Sasuke. Once again she had been dragged to his house by her sister and was stuck spending the night there. (her sister visiting Itachi and staying over was becoming a reoccurring thing; much to Naomi's and Sasuke's annoyance).

The two got out of his car and were met with mild surprise from their friends when they reached the group meeting point. "You spent the night at Sasuke-kun's again?" Sakura and Ino demanded.

Naomi let out a heavy sigh in annoyance as this routine began again. It was standard procedure now every time the two arrived at school together- which had been a lot in just two weeks, the fan girls went off.

The two girls glared at her with territorial glares and while attention was directed at them another glare had gone unnoticed by everyone but Naruto. Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow as he watched a certain red head give Sasuke a dark glare. With his attention there and the rest on the three girls no one noticed another set of pale eyes glaring at Sasuke from the back of the group.

"Her sister dragged her over again when she went to hang out with Itachi. I got stuck with her again." Sasuke explained to the two fan girls in disinterest.

"Why does she always take you over there?" Sakura demanded.

"Mom doesn't want to accept the fact that I'm too old for a babysitter and tries to make her watch me. She doesn't want to so dumps me with him while she goes off with his brother and their friends." Naomi answered pointing to Sasuke. "Meet my new unpaid, unwilling, and unwanted on both our parts babysitter." She added jokingly.

A few of the others laughed and Sakura looked like she wanted to say more. "Relax would you? It's nothing." Sasuke muttered; annoyed.

"I've already told you I'm not interested in him." Naomi added when Ino opened her mouth to speak, she knew what she was going to say. "Besides I can tell his brother and my sister want in each other's pants. If they get together then that'd be like incest." She added shaking her head.

She walked over to Hinata and began talking to her for a few minutes. Effectively ignoring the two girls and they decided to drop it. Everyone started talking about different things and plans for the weekend as they waited for school to start.

"So we still on for the sleepover tonight?" Naomi asked Hinata.

"Mhm, do you need to go to your house for your stuff?" She responded shyly.

"Yeah, I'll just bum a ride off of someone back to my house." She answered shrugging her shoulders.

'Neji-kun, could you take us to her house to get her stuff after school?" Hinata asked her cousin, timidly.

"Why?" Neji responded.

"Um, well because we ride together and she was already coming home with us after school anyway. She still needs her stuff though. It'll only take a few minutes." Hinata explained, slightly taken back by Neji's sudden change in attitude.

"I don't see how that's really my problem."

"But-

"She can bum a ride off Sasuke. I'm not driving out of my way." Neji responded in a tone that said that was the end of it.

Naruto and Sasuke gave each other a confused glance before staring at him, they noted his tone when saying Sasuke's name.

Naomi glared slightly. She wondered what pissed him off all of a sudden. She hadn't done anything to him so why was he being a jerk to her? Growing a wide smirk she clapped her hands twice while looking at him.

"Bravo, you really know how to make an ass out of yourself." She stated; keeping smartass remarks to herself was never something she was good at. Neji responded with a sneer and turned away from her, starting up a conversation with Lee and Tenten.

"I live in the area; I'll give you a ride." Kiba offered to put a stop to anymore bickering.

"Thanks Kiba. Wanna come with us Hinata? We'll just take my car to your place." She asked.

"Alright. Thank you Kiba-kun." Hinata answered.

Naomi, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino proceeded to get into a conversation (though Shino and Hinata did little talking) while heading over to sit down at the school steps.

"What's the matter with you Neji?" Naruto asked while everyone started to do their own thing, wander off, and such.

"Nothing's wrong." He responded.

"Well you were fine until Sasuke showed up with Naomi. Now you're all pissy." He continued.

"Just shut up Naruto, it's nothing." He snapped.

"And you Gaara, you're even moodier than normal." Naruto continued; now looking at the brooding boy. Gaara hadn't said a word the whole time and though not talking was nothing new for him to begin with Naruto could tell he was upset from his posture.

'They're pissed that Sasuke and Naomi spent the night together again. They're jealous." Shikamaru stated casually, easily reading the situation.

"I am not." They both growled.

"I don't see why you would be. She's just annoying and doesn't do anything but talk and go through my stuff." Sasuke muttered.

"I am not jealous." They snapped again.

A grin grew on Naruto's face as an idea occurred to him. "I can understand why. I mean she's really cool and pretty." Naruto stated; prodding to see if he could get a reaction from either of them. The remaining two caught on and with a glance at each other decided to join in.

"I know what you mean Naruto. She's annoying but she's not that bad to look at. Maybe I should thank her sister for dumping her on me all the time." Sasuke stated and smirked when he noted the eyes twitch on the two boys.

"Yeah, hell I might go for her too." Shikamaru chipped in.

"Wouldn't she be a bit too troublesome for you?" Naruto responded.

"I can make an exception for her." He answered.

"No kidding, she's-

Sasuke began but was cut off by Gaara and Neji. "Shut up! All of you!" They both snapped before storming off.

"Ha-ha, yep they like her." Naruto laughed when they were gone. Pleased to see their joking got a reaction out of them.

"Question is if they'll act on it." Shikamaru stated.

"Doubtfully." Sasuke responded; knowing the two boys well enough to know it'd be awhile before they even attempted to make a move.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "Hey you weren't serious were you Shikamaru? About being interested in her?" Naruto asked curiously.

"No way. First I'm not about to get involved in a love triangle that involves those two, I value my life and second I want someone else." He answered.

"Who?" Naruto asked surprised the lazy ass actually had a crush on a girl since all girls were dubbed as "too troublesome" for him. "You never talk about who you like." He added.

"And there's a reason why I'm not telling you who she is." Shikamaru responded logically.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked.

"Like I said, I value my life. Naruto's big mouth would let it slip that I like her and if certain people knew they'd probably kill me." He answered, knowing the girl's two brothers were rather overprotective of their older sister.

"That doesn't make much sense, who'd kill you for it?" Naruto asked confused.

"Let it go Naruto. He's not going to tell us." Sasuke stated as the bell rang.

The day passed rather uneventfully for Naomi. Once again she attempted to help Gaara in chemistry. He still rarely talked to her but he had now asked for her help a grand total of four times so she believed she was making progress in her quest of befriending him. By midday Neji had also seemed to have gotten over whatever was bothering him and was treating her as he normally did (which was close to how Gaara acted but a bit more talkative and somewhat egotistical).

When school was out Naomi and Hinata rode with Kiba back to her place and Naomi gathered her stuff from her room before they headed to her car and drove to Hinata's house.

"So you like Naruto huh?" Naomi asked Hinata as they drove. Hinata's face flared up like it was on fire and she began stuttering out an answer. "Ha-ha, relax Hina." Naomi laughed and she calmed down slightly.

"Y-yeah I d-do..." She mumbled with a beet red face.

"Aww." Naomi teased lightly. "You two would be cute together." She added with a smile.

"He barely notices me though..." She muttered.

"That's not true. You guys are friends after all and I see him staring at you sometimes. He talks about you too you know." Naomi replied.

"R-really?"

"Mhm."

Hinata looked out the window while blushing insanely red. "Do you like anyone?" She asked, trying to change the subject away from herself.

"Nope not really." Naomi replied with a shrug.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean a lot of the guys are pretty damn cute but I don't like any of them yet. Takes me awhile to develop a crush." She answered and as she finished saying that they stopped at a stop light and saw Gaara walking by.

"Hey it's Gaara-kun." Hinata pointed out shyly.

"Yeah." Naomi replied and grinned, rolling down her window. "Where's your car Gaara?" She called to him and he looked up, glancing at her.

"My sister took it." He replied uninterestedly.

"Do you want a ride?" Naomi offered kindly. she remembered Sasuke saying that he lived near Hinata too.

"I'm not going home." He responded.

"Oh."

"Where are you going?" Hinata asked curiously.

He sighed in annoyance. "To meet up with Naruto." He replied.

Naomi frowned slightly at his unfriendly behavior but grinned at Hinata and unlocked the door behind her, popping it open. "Get in; we'll give you a ride there." She stated.

Gaara blinked slowly in surprise for a minute before he got in silently. Once he shut the door the light turned green and they were off again. "...Thanks." He muttered after a moment.

"No problem, where you heading?" She replied with a grin.

Gaara directed her to an arcade and they saw Naruto hanging outside of it boredly. "Finally! Geezz it took you long enough Gaara!" He exclaimed when they arrived. "Hey Naomi. Hi Hinata!" he added when he saw them. "Thanks for giving him a ride or I'd be waiting forever." He added.

Gaara got out of the car and shut the door behind him without a word. But he had already said thank you once so Naomi didn't really expect another one.

"Hey, you two want to hang since you're already here?" Naruto asked suddenly; a large grin plastered on his face.

"Eh, why not." Naomi replied when Hinata began to blush.

Naomi parked her car and the two girls quickly met back up with the boys. "Alright! Let's do this!" Naruto cheered and the four went inside.

They played several games as a group but after awhile Naruto rushed off to play some game with Hinata. A grin on his face while a deep blush was on Hinata's. Naomi blinked in surprise once she was left alone with Gaara. After thinking for a moment she turned to him. "Was this planned?" She asked.

"Was what planned?" He responded dryly.

"Hina and I giving you a ride here."

"Why would that be planned?"

"Well he didn't seem too surprised to see us giving you one and if you were planning on hanging out after school why didn't you just go with him?" She replied.

"Naruto has a motorcycle. I'd really rather not sit behind another man with my arms around him." He answered and she giggled.

"I'd pay to see that." She giggled and he rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, seems like it was planned."

"If it was it was done on Naruto's end. I had nothing to do with it." He answered boredly.

"Hmm." Was her response as she thought of what to say next while looking around boredly. "So do you want a ride back to your place too?" She offered.

"...Sure." He responded and it fell silent again.

"So how is it you're a singer if you barely talk?" She asked; trying to end the awkward silence and Gaara just shrugged while looking around boredly. "Sheesh you need to talk more." She muttered and he grunted in response. "Come on let's go play some games since Naruto and Hinata ditched us." She decided and grabbed his arm. pulling him to a game.

Naruto and Hinata met back up with them about a half hour later and after a few hours in the arcade they left, got some food, and Naomi gave Gaara a ride home.

"See ya Monday!" She called as he got out of the car.

"Bye." Hinata waved.

"Later." He responded to the both of them.

"Is your house big like his and Sasuke's too?" Naomi asked as she drove to Hinata's.

"Mhm." She responded and pointed to where she needed to go.

"So did you have fun with Naruto?" She teased as they pulled up to Hinata's giant house. Hinata blushed but nodded with a small smile. "Anything happen?" She pressed; nudging her lightly.

"N-no, we just p-played a few g-games." She replied.

"He's too much of a dumbass to make a move I guess." Naomi muttered as they walked up to the front door.

"Hey Naomi-san?" Hinata asked suddenly, changing the subject again.

"Hm?"

"Do you like Gaara-kun?" She asked as she let them in.

Naomi froze for a split second, a blush appearing for a moment. "N-no. Well I mean he's really hot but I don't like, like him. Not yet anyway. I might later on but right now I don't think I know him well enough to be sure." She explained quickly.

"I understand."

"Why?"

"Well you're really nice to him and you always seem really happy and smile when you're with him." Hinata stated; leading her to her room.

"Well that's because I've made it my goal to make him more friendly and to be his friend so when he's acting even a little bit more social it makes me happy."

"Good luck with that." Hinata mumbled shyly; knowing Naruto's been working at making Gaara more social since he met him.

"Where have you been all day?" Neji asked; hearing the girls in the hall and poking his head out of his room.

"We went to the arcade." Naomi answered and Hinata nodded.

The two girls hung out in Hinata's room until they decided to go to bed and talked till they fell asleep. Well Hinata fell asleep; Naomi couldn't fall asleep for some reason. After laying in bed and staring at the ceiling for an hour she decided to give up. She went to the bathroom and on the way back she heard the sound of a TV on. Curiously she followed it and found Neji watching TV in the living rom.

"Can't sleep?" He asked; not looking away from the TV.

"Nope." She replied, a little surprised he noticed her.

"Me neither." He responded before glancing at her. "You can stay up with me if you want, I don't care." He added; shrugging and turning back to the TV.

Naomi sat down beside him on the couch and they watched TV for a bit. When the TV show ended he glanced at her again. "Sorry about this morning." He muttered.

"It's fine." She replied and Neji put on a movie. They talked for awhile longer before they both ended up falling asleep to the movie.

"Umm Naomi? Could you get off me?" Neji asked.

He had woken up to find he was sleeping on the couch. Naomi had also fallen asleep beside him but had fallen over in her sleep and her head was now resting in his lap. A light tint appeared on his cheeks when he noticed where her face was before quickly vanishing.

"Naomi." He called again, shaking her shoulder; hoping to wake her up.

"Mmmm but mommy I don't want to play with the monkey..." She mumbled in response.

"What?" Neji asked confused. "Naomi wake up!" He ordered, shaking her shoulder a bit rougher this time.

Naomi groaned and blinked her eyes open. Once her brain kicked on again she sat up slowly. She blinked in shock as she picked her head up and saw where it was. Blushing she bolted upright.

"S-sorry about that." She muttered; scratching the back of her head.

"It's fine." He replied and it fell silent for several minutes.

"Woo awkward silence." Naomi joked and Neji chuckled lightly. "Right, well I'm gonna go back to Hinata now. "She added when the silence was still there.

Naomi got up and headed back to Hinata's room. She slipped back in and found her still asleep so she crawled back into bed and snoozed for awhile longer.

A few hours later Hinata and Naomi woke up for good this time and talked for awhile while they lay in bed, too lazy to get up yet. "Where'd you go last night? I woke up for a minute and didn't see you." Hinata asked as they laid there.

"I couldn't sleep and I had to go to the bathroom. On my way back I heard Neji watching TV and watched TV with him for a bit. I apparently fell asleep there on the couch." She answered.

"Oh."

"Yep."

"Umm, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Hinata looked a little embarrassed to ask what she wanted to. But, she was curious so she asked anyway. "Umm, well I've noticed you and your mom don't really like each other." She stated.

"Oh... Yeah, it's complicated." Naomi answered.

"What do you mean?"

"... She's not my real mother." Naomi stated.

"Step mom?" Hinata asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No..."

"I don't understand..."

"My father had an affair. I'm the daughter of that woman." Naomi clarified.

"Oh." Was all Hinata could figure out to say.

"She didn't want me so my dad took me in. Naturally that nearly killed my parents' marriage but they stayed together, for the kids' sake I guess. My 'mother' loves me I guess but it's like a constant slap in the face to her you know? She raised me but I'm not her daughter and she's made that very clear over the years."

"Oh... I'm sorry." Hinata stated and Naomi shrugged, attempting to make it seem like it didn't bother her.

"It's hard for all of us, to my mom I'm a constant reminder of her husband's unfaithfulness, to my dad I'm a constant guilt trip and regret, and to my sister I'm the one that nearly tore apart her family. I've only actually ever met my real mother three times in my life."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's alright; it's gotten a lot better. I mean when we fight a lot of nasty things will be said but now days we kind of just ignore that factor. That's why we moved here. We wanted to start all over, begin anew you know?" She responded and Hinata nodded.

"When I was young though, that's when it was bad. I didn't know for while." Naomi muttered.

"When did you find out the truth?"

"When I was seven, I overheard my parents fighting about it." She answered, closing her eyes as the memory resurfaced.

Flashback!

____

_Seven year old Naomi walked from the bathroom; heading back to her room and heard raised voices coming from the living room downstairs. She wandered over to the stairs and hid on them so she could listen._

"What was that woman doing at your office?" She heard her mother demand.

"I didn't expect to see her. She just showed up." Her father answered.

"Why? What did she want? To ruin the family again?"

"She wanted to see Naomi."

Naomi tilted her head in confusion, who was this woman that wanted to meet her?

"She's not meeting her." Her mother snapped.

"Why can't she?"

"She gave Naomi up, she didn't want her so she doesn't get to see her."

"She's not your daughter. Naomi is her daughter and you can't stop her from seeing her own child."

Naomi blinked in shock, her mouth falling open and she fell onto her butt in surprise.

"Thank you for reminding me of that you cheating bastard."

"Why can't you forgive me?"

"Why do you think? You cheated on me, got the woman pregnant, brought the whore child into my house, and expected me to raise her like she's actually my child!"

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake and I'm taking responsibility for what I did. I never asked for her but what else was I supposed to do when her mother casted her away?"

"You could have put her up for adoption."

"That wouldn't have stopped our fighting and mistrust. Though she was a mistake I won't throw away my child."

"No instead you'll wreck your family."

"I did what I did. We need to move on."

"We can never move on as long as that child is in this house! And even if she was gone it wouldn't change what has happened to our marriage."

"I am all too aware of this but-

"Enough! This fighting is getting us nowhere. Look that woman is to have nothing to do with her. Now I'm going to bed, you can sleep on the couch."

Hearing them stop talking Naomi rushed back to her room. As she neared it she stopped. Her twelve year old sister was leaning against the doorframe to her own room and glaring at her.

"You ruined everything. It's your fault mommy and daddy hate each other. You ruined my family." She hissed out angrily and stormed back into her room.

With the tears that had been building up finally falling Naomi ran back into her room and cried herself to sleep.

End Flashback!

"After that things just got worse." She finished, retelling that memory to Hinata. "I was seven then. I didn't- couldn't understand everything. I confronted them about it and we all got nasty with each other real quick. It was hell for all four of us but especially me."

"Just mentally though right? You were never beaten or anything were you?" Hinata asked concerned.

"No." Naomi replied reassuringly while shaking her head no. "From time to time when mom had way too many she got a little violent and sometimes I'd be in the wrong place at the wrong time but dad always got involved and calmed her down before it got serious. It was still followed by sobs of apologies from mom though."

"So your mom does care?"

"Yeah, I know she does deep down otherwise she'd have never raised me in the first place right? But she lets her negative emotions get the better of her."

"Your dad sounds like he cares a lot."

"He does. I mean it was made very known that I was a mistake but he loves me and takes care of me. It's just painful you know?"

"I understand."

"Yeah."

"What about your sister?"

"Now that we're older we get along a lot better. We never really did when we were young and she got into all kinds of trouble growing up, guess to escape from the issues at home. I kinda did the same though my habits were running away and picking fights. She got mixed in with the wrong crowds and stuff. Anyway we got older, she straightened herself out and I did too I guess.. Now the only issues we have with each other is when mom dumps me on her when she wants to go out. You can ask Sasuke how that one plays out."

"So you're better now?"

"Yeah. My parents fight from time to time but that's about it."

"What about you and your mom?"

"We kind of just ignore each other for the most part. She generally lets me do what I want so my dad will be happy and she has my sister keep an eye on me to make sure I stay out of trouble but yeah, honestly we just kinda ignore each other unless we have to talk to each other."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"But still."

"It's fine. Like I said, we're starting over. We moved away from everything and all of us are trying to put our past behind us. We're trying to be as normal of a family as we can be and just try to forget the past." She stated, forcing a reassuring smile onto her face.

"But you can't forget something like that..."

"Come on let's change the subject. I'm starving are you?" Naomi decided; not wanting to talk about this anymore.

Hinata nodded slowly and they went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. They decided on making some for the whole family so Hinata began to cook some pancakes while Naomi helped by making eggs.

"What are you two doing?" Neji asked as he stepped into the kitchen for his own breakfast and looked at all the food they made.

The two had made pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, and poured orange juice for everyone. "Making breakfast. We made enough for everyone." She answered, handing him a plate.

"Thanks." He responded and all three of them ate their breakfast together (shortly joined by the rest of the family).

After breakfast Hinata and Naomi watched TV and played videogames for awhile and then Naomi figured she should go home. She changed out of her pjs and into a pair of dark blue hip hugger jeans, black converses, and a black tank top with a purple, gray, and black plaid button up shirt over it and left unbuttoned. She put on her typical jewelry of a cross necklace and some rings and brushed her hair before packing her stuff.

"Where'd Neji go?" Naomi asked once she was all set to go. She wanted to say goodbye to him too.

"Umm he's probably training out back." Hinata answered and started leading her there.

"Training?" Naomi asked confused as she followed her.

They walked outside and Naomi's next question fell short as she watched Neji practicing martial arts. Shirtless. Her mouth fell open as she stared. _'Holy shit!'_ She thought while staring at his upper body.

"Neji-kun's been studying kung fu since he was little." Hinata explained and lightly giggled at Naomi's staring in awe.

"Awesome." She stated. "Is he in that martial arts club?" She added, still not taking her eyes off him.

"Mhm. Neji-kun does kung fu, Ten-ten-san knows Karate and's a weapon specialist, and Lee-kun knows kung fu, karate, and more. They're the best in the club." She explained.

"They seem to stick together too." Naomi responded, recalling that those three always seemed to be together in and out of school.

"Mhm, they've been close since we were young. Though Neji-kun and Lee-kun are pretty big rivals."

"Do you know anything?"

"I know tai chi..." She answered shyly.

"You need to show me some stuff sometime then." She stated with a grin. "Both of you." She added; still watching Neji

Hinata giggled again. She was aware of the fact that Neji knew they were there and had been showing off to the staring Naomi.

Neji looked up from his hand stand as if he just noticed they were there. He pushed forward off his hands and flipped into the air, landing on his feet and facing them. He brushed his hair out of his face while walking up to them.

"What are you two doing?" He asked when he stopped in front of Naomi.

"Huh?" Naomi asked as if in a daze. She finally realized she was staring and quickly looked at the ground. "Oh um uh I uh I was... I was about to leave and uh wanted to say bye! So uh bye!" She managed to say and quickly rushed off; bright red in the face. "See you at school!" She called and Hinata quickly followed her in her giggle fit. Leaving a smug looking Neji behind them.

"Your face was so funny." Hinata teased lightly. They stood in front of Naomi's car and Naomi was forcing the blush to go away.

"Sshh! I didn't expect _**that**_." She answered.

"That?"

"Th-...muscles...kung fu...sexy..." She muttered as her blush got darker.

Hinata giggled even more and shook her head. "See you at school Naomi-chan." she laughed.

"See ya." Naomi replied while opening her car door.

"Hey, wait, um.. I'm sorry about this morning, I shouldn't have asked that and made you upset." Hinata mumbled sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. If I was uncomfortable about you knowing I wouldn't have told you." Naomi responded. "I don't really like to talk about it but I told you anyway. You're the first I've told since I moved here. That means I trust you okay?" She added smiling.

"Okay." Hinata nodded and smiled.

"Ha, even Sasuke doesn't know and you'd think I'd tell him why he's always stuck with me." She laughed.

"It wasn't my place to ask though..." Hinata muttered sheepishly.

"Gah! You're too nice Hinata!" Naomi exclaimed. "It's fine ok?" She repeated and Hinata nodded. Naomi thought for a moment then grinned. "I'll tell you a secret. One other person that I know of here knows the truth." She added.

"Who?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Remember how I said my sister straightened herself out?" She asked and Hinata nodded. "The reason she did was help from a pen pal. They've been pen pals since they were our age." She explained then grinned. "Bet you can't guess who it is." She stated.

Hinata blinked in confusion then thought about it for a moment. "Itachi-kun?" She asked.

"Yep." Naomi replied. "I guess the silent dude was her words of wisdoms and rock to cling to guy." She added. "So she has her friend to confide in and I have mine." She finished, patting Hinata on the shoulder.

Hinata smiled not feeling bad about asking about her past anymore. They talked briefly for a few more minutes before Naomi decided she should go (for real this time). They said goodbye and Naomi left.

Naomi drove into town to do a little shopping before heading home. She picked up a few things for home at the store and stopped by an ice-cream shop for a snack. As she walked in she spotted a familiar mop of red hair standing in line for food. Grinning she wandered over to him.

"Hey Gaara." She greeted.

"Hn." Was his response, looking at her for a moment.

"And what's my favorite gloomy red head doing here?" She asked casually (while sneakily cutting everyone behind them).

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Your favorite red head?" He asked.

"Well yeah, I mean I don't really know any other red heads so." she answered with a shrug and Gaara shook his head as he ordered.

"Well if you prefer I could call you my favorite gloomy buddy?" She suggested while grinning.

"When did I become your buddy?" He asked ready to leave.

"When I decided you were." She answered and quickly grabbed his sleeve. "Don't leave." She added when he tried.

"Why not?"

"I want to hang out, you can can't you?" She asked and hurriedly placing her order (while clutching his sleeve).

Gaara sighed but then stopped trying to escape. "I have nothing better to do I guess..." He muttered.

Naomi grinned and grabbed her ice-cream leaving with him. "So back to you being my buddy. I decided it last night so neh." She continued, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Who says I want to be your buddy?" He responded as they sat down in the park across from the ice-cream parlor.

"Well... you agreed to hang out with me. Plus you haven't been as nasty to me as you were when we first met. Even let me help you in chemistry." She pointed out. Gaara remained silent in response. "Heh, I win." She stated.

"You're still annoying." Gaara responded.

"And you're still a jerk." She retorted but then grinned. "There, I'm your favorite annoyance and you're my favorite jerk." She decided.

"Fair enough." He muttered.

"So what are you doing today then? Just randomly wanted ice-cream?" She asked.

"Siblings were annoying me so I went out."

"Ah."

"...Weren't you with Hinata?"

"I left a hour ago. I didn't want them to be annoyed at me for staying really long. I'm just in no hurry to go home."

"Hn."

They finished their ice-cream and talked (well Naomi talked) in the park for awhile longer before they both stood up and started heading back to their cars.

"See you at school Gaara!" Naomi called as they went their separate ways.

"Later." Gaara muttered.

Naomi made it to her car before getting a text from her sister. _Mom and dad are fighting. they're in BAD moods. I'd stay away if I were you. I'm going to stay with Itachi. I'll let you know when it's good to go home. _She blinked at the text in surprise for a moment before quickly rushing back over to Gaara.

"Hey wait!" She called and he stopped getting into his car.

"What?"

"Um... I really don't want to go home right now... so um..." She began hesitantly.

"...You can hang out with me..." He muttered; understanding what she wanted.

"Really? Awesome! What do you want to do?" She asked excitedly.

Gaara lead her back to his house and they left her car there. They went inside to grab something to drink before going to go out again.

"Gaara? You back?" A male's voice asked from a room off the hall.

Gaara didn't answer and lead Naomi into the kitchen. "Get whatever you want." He muttered as he grabbed himself a coke and leaned against the counter.

"Can I have a coke too?" She asked looking in the fridge.

"I said get whatever you want." He repeated as an answer.

Naomi grabbed a coke and looked around the kitchen. "So..." She began, attempting to start a conversation.

"You know you could at least answer me once in awhile Gaara." A voice stated in annoyance and Naomi saw Gaara's older brother come in.

He had spiky brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was several inches taller than Gaara. When she took in what he was wearing she blushed and looked at the ground.

"Who's the chick?" He asked confused that _Gaara_ had a girl over.

"Naomi." He answered shortly.

"Naomi? Gaara's never mentioned you before... Name's Kankuro." He introduced still a little confused.

"I'm sort of new." She answered staring at the ground.

Gaara looked at her confused then back at Kankuro and realization dawned on him. Impulsively he put his hand over her eyes, covering them for her and glared at his older brother.

"Go put pants on Kankuro." He ordered.

Kankuro blinked in shock then remembered he was still roaming the house in his boxers. "Uh right, my bad." He answered quickly and ducked out of the room fast.

"Does your brother generally go around in his underwear?" Naomi asked as they slipped out while Kankuro was gone to put pants on.

"On the weekends if he thinks no one's coming over." He answered.

"My bad." She laughed as they got to Gaara's car.

"It doesn't matter." He answered.

Naomi looked at Gaara with a thoughtful look. She was noticing a trend in the guys she hung out with now. They were all pretty fit with some nice bodies. she was curious now.

"Hey Gaara?" She began and he glanced at her, signaling he was listening. "Take your clothes off." She finished.

Gaara actually stumbled forward in shock. "Excuse me?" He demanded; grabbing onto the car for support and staring at her in shock.

"Um I mean just your shirt. Could you take your shirt off please?" She elaborated, bright red.

"Why?" He asked hesitantly.

"I want to see something..." she answered advancing on him.

Minutes later and after much struggling they were both sitting in his car. Gaara was pulling his shirt back on (which had a tear and was now stretched out) and was glaring off to the side with a light blush; embarrassed. Naomi stared forward, blushing beet red and a little dazed. _'Damn he's got a hot body...'_ She thought and blushed a little darker.

"Happy now?" Gaara demanded as he recovered his composer.

"...y-yeah.." She replied; coming back to reality.

"Why exactly did you rip my clothes off?" He asked as they drove.

"I didn't rip your clothes off, just your shirt." She answered, the blush coming back.

"Ok why?"

"I wanted to see if you had a nice body." She answered; staring out of the window to hide her face.

"...Uh why?" he asked again.

"Well I noticed that you guys seem to have some pretty nice bodies. I mean Neji's got one, Sasuke, your brother, I saw Naruto and Kiba after practice once and them too. I mean geezz you're all crazy fit... I wanted to see if you had one too..." She explained. "Just curious." She added.

"Oh." He replied, a bit taken back.

"Yep." She replied.

They drove in silence for awhile then Gaara glanced at her. "Do I?" He asked curiously.

"Do you what?"

"...Do I have a 'nice body'?" He asked; though not sure why he cared what she thought.

"O-oh... y-yeah." She answered; face once again flaring up. She faced out the window again to hide it. "Y-you have a pretty hot body." She added.

Gaara blinked in surprise and faced forward again. His mouth twitched as he restrained the smug smirk that fought to appear onto his face.

They drove the rest of the way to the mall in silence and headed in there to kill time. Gaara figured the easiest way to put up with her was to give her something to do. They managed to make a lap around the mall in awkward silence before they went to the food court for lunch.

"So how long exactly do you plan on staying with me?" Gaara asked as they both ate some Panda Express.

"Uhh... I don't know, 'till you make me leave?" She answered.

"Won't your parents expect you home?"

"Nah, my sister texted me and said they're in horrible moods and fighting again. When that happens it's a bad idea to go home for either of us. They'll start trying to pick a fight with anyone over anything."

"Oh."

"Yep so I'm just waiting for my sister to give me the ok." She finished. "So you're stuck with me... Unless you want me gone?" She added.

"I don't care." He replied, going back to eating. They continued to eat in silence and then Naomi started to laugh. "What?" Gaara demanded confused.

"I was just thinking. You're taking me everywhere, taking me to the mall, and feeding me. It's like we're on a date or something." She laughed.

"I'm not taking you on a date. I just didn't know what to do with you." He growled as a light pink tint appeared on his cheeks for a split second.

Naomi laughed harder and shook her head with a grin. Gaara glared at her as she laughed but her laughter was cut short when his phone went off.

"What?" He asked as he answered it. Naomi heard Naruto's voice on the phone. "Nothing." He replied. "I don't care." There was a pause. "I'm not at home." Gaara spoke and Naomi signaled that she wanted to see his phone. Hesitantly Gaara handed it to her and she grinned; leaning back in her chair.

"Hey Naruto!" She greeted.

"Naomi?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Sup?"

"Why do you have Gaara's phone?"

"Because I'm out with my favorite red head of course."

"Your favorite red head?"

"Mhm. Oh wait we decided on him being my favorite jerk. I'm his favorite annoyance by the way."

"...Ok then..."

"Yup, I'll give you back to him now. Just wanted to say hi."

Naomi handed the phone back to Gaara chuckling. Gaara shook his head and took his phone. "Yeah." He responded "I know." There was another pause and Naomi watched his cheeks tint pink again in response to whatever Naruto said. "No!" Gaara snapped back in response. "Shut up." A pause. "She doesn't want to go home." Pause. "I didn't care." A longer pause this time. "We're at the mall." Gaara visually shrugged to whatever Naruto said. "Sure." A quick pause. "Alright." Gaara hung up and looked at Naomi.

"Naruto's going to meet up with us. He'll be here in a bit." Gaara stated.

"Sweet." Naomi replied. They decided on just staying in the food court while they waited for Naruto to show up. "So Gaara, how long have you guys been a band?" She asked; attempting once again to start a conversation.

"About a year." He answered boredly.

"Cool. Have you guys preformed yet?"

"A few small gigs. We're trying to find a serious gig to get us know but nothing yet." He answered.

"Heh, I still find it amusing that you're the singer in a band." She laughed.

"Why's it so funny?"

"You're so quiet and antisocial."

"Hn."

They fell into silence again as they waited. Naomi drummed her fingers on the table boredly and Gaara zoned out. She looked at him as he zoned. _'Wonder if I'm making any progress in getting him to open up... Well he's at least talking to me and we're getting along for the most part... That's an improvement... Heh he didn't even yell at me for ripping his shirt off... mmmm even if he did it'd be worth it...'_ She thought.

"Naomi? ...Why are you staring at me and grinning at me like that?" Gaara asked slightly unnerved by her starring and the predatory (perverse) grin glued to her face.

"Huh?" Naomi asked, snapping out of her mental goggling.

"You looked like you were planning on raping him." Naruto stated, appearing beside them as if out of thin air.

"Ahh!" Naomi exclaimed, jumping in surprise (even falling of her chair). Gaara just jumped slightly with wide eyes.

"Holy hell Naruto! You just popped out of nowhere!" Naomi declared as she got off the ground.

Naruto just laughed and grinned. "So what were you thinking about that made you grin like that?" Naruto asked as they left the food court.

"Nothing, just a passing thought." Naomi answered quickly.

Naruto blinked then grinned and leaned into Gaara. "See told you she was planning on raping you." Naruto muttered then yelped in surprise when Naomi shoved him playfully.

"Don't tell him Naruto. I won't be able to catch him by surprise now!" She joked and Gaara blinked in confusion.

"Ha-ha my bad Naomi!" Naruto joked with her.

"See now I'm going to have to slip him some drug." Naomi laughed.

They continued to joke about it and Gaara just stared at them like they had lost their minds. "Sorry Gaara I'm just determined to rape you. I mean I just can't help myself." Naomi stated; slinging her arm around him and winking.

"Can't rape the willing Naomi." Naruto joked.

"Who says I'm willing?" Gaara demanded.

"Come on Gaara. We all know you're a closet freak." Naruto stated; patting him on the back.

"Whatever." Gaara responded trying to escape both of them as Naruto now slung his arm over his other shoulder.

"See what will happen Naomi." Naruto began; looking at her as they both had their arms over him. "He'll make you think you're raping him but he'll really be enjoying it. He's a real freak; you know bondage and all that." Naruto continued; grinning like the Cheshire cat and they both cracked up laughing.

"You're an idiot Naruto." Gaara growled.

"Hey no need to be embarrassed Gaara. To each their own, you know?" Naomi responded grinning.

"He's full of crap." Gaara responded.

"Come now Gaara, we all know it's true." Naruto stated; letting go of him and still grinning.

"Shut up you know it's not." Gaara responded then a thought occurred to him as to how to get the blonde to shut up. "You're just jealous. After all you've never even kissed a girl before. Let alone gone all the way." Gaara responded and like he hoped Naruto's mouth shut up instantly.

Naomi giggled as she watched Naruto turn bright red before he recovered from his shock. "Gaara!" He snapped in embarrassment.

"Come now Naruto, we all know it's true." Gaara quoted and Naruto glared.

"Yeah well neither have you!" He retorted.

"Yeah so? Your point? It got you to shut up didn't it?" He responded.

Naruto just glared in response and Naomi giggled at the both of them. "Alright guys play nice." She stated; cutting into their staring contest. She slung her arms around both their shoulders as they kept walking. A grin grew on her face again. "Nice to know my two buddies are so pure." She teased and Naruto blushed again while Gaara looked as impassive as ever.

"G-Gaara was just messing around. Trying to get back at me for the jokes you know? I've kissed people." Naruto tried lamely.

"Yeah Sasuke." Gaara stated quietly.

"I told you we were twelve and it didn't happen on purpose! Some asshole pushed me into him!" Naruto snapped at him, completely red now and horrified that Naomi heard.

"What! Really? Oh wow I didn't know you swung that way Naruto!" Naomi teased.

"I don't! Like I said it was an accident!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I kid, I kid! It's cool guys." Naomi stated shaking her head and laughing. "If it makes you guys feel better- well since Gaara doesn't seem to care, if it makes you feel better Naruto I've never kissed a guy before either." Naomi stated "I'm just as pure as you two." She added with a grin.

"What really?" Naruto asked surprised and Gaara only looked mildly surprised.

"Yep." Naomi replied; not at all embarrassed to tell them since they were the same. She then grinned cheekily at Naruto. "Which means you got more experience with the men then I do." She teased and let go of the two boys, walking ahead of them.

"Oh come on Naomi! It was an accident! I was a kid!" Naruto exclaimed; none of his friends had ever let him or Sasuke live that day down.

When they had calmed down they wandered into a music store. Gaara and Naruto went and looked at drum sets while Naomi looked around. Apparently Naruto needed a new drum set and Gaara was trying to convince him to buy one. While they did that Naomi looked at some of the guitars curiously. She couldn't play to save her life but she liked to look at the cool ones.

"Interested in buying a guitar?" Someone asked from behind her. Naomi turned and saw an employee about a year older then herself looking at her curiously.

"Oh no. I don't play." She answered shaking her head no.

"Really? We offer lessons here if you're interested in learning." he stated.

"No thanks." She replied.

"Well anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, I'm just waiting for my friends to finish up. I guess they're looking for new instruments." She explained.

"Let me guess, you guys are trying to start a band? And since you're not buying instruments you must be the singer?" He asked.

"Ha-ha! Yeah right. I can't sing, I sound more like a dying cat than anything else." She laughed.

"I'm sure you're not that bad."

"Oh I am. Trust me. They're in a band though." She stated; nodding to Naruto and Gaara.

"Oh cool. I'm in a band myself." He stated.

"Awesome." Naomi stated; glancing at the boys again. Hoping one would catch her eye and save her from the guy now flirting with her.

"Yep. In fact we've got a gig coming up." He continued.

"Cool." Naomi replied disinterestedly.

"Mhm, this place is holding a kind of battle of the bands for local, little known bands trying to get popular." He explained.

Naomi blinked in interest now. The wheels began to turn in her head and she inwardly grinned. She grew a bright smile on her face and changed her posture from disinterest/defensive to flirty and looked at him. "Really? That's so cool. Since you work here you must have a lot to do with it huh?" She asked.

"Of course. I get to help find bands to perform and go around telling everyone about it." He answered proudly.

"Cool." She stated then gave him another flirty look. "Hey! Think there's any chance you could get my friends in to perform?" She asked hopefully.

"Well we're pretty full but let me take a look." He replied and he led her over to the counter. She leaned against it as he pulled out a binder and began flipping through it. "Well we're pretty booked." He stated, looking at the schedule.

"Is it at all possible? It would mean so much to me if you could." She pressed; turning on the big eyed puppy dog look.

"Well..." He hesitated. "Let me go see what my boss thinks and we'll see what we can do." He decided.

He quickly went down a hall and into an office to talk to his boss. Once he was gone Naomi sighed and relaxed. She shook her head and waited for him to come back.

Naomi saw Naruto watching her and she waved with a wide grin. Naruto tilted his head in confusion and started for her but the guy was coming back and she quickly put up her finger to signal him to wait a minute. As the guy reached her she regained her flirty posture and smiled at him. "Any luck?" She asked hopefully.

"Well he said he'd consider it. He wants to hear them perform first. If he likes them enough then he's willing to tweak with the times a bit and let them play." He explained.

"Really? Oh thank you so much!" She cheered.

"If they can be here in an hour he'd like to hear them today." He finished.

"Alright, I'll get them all together and we'll be back in an hour. Thank you so much for doing this for me."

"No problem. They can use our instruments too just don't be late." He added while handing her info on the event.

"Thanks. Well I better go get the guys then. Thanks again."

"Alright, see ya in an hour then." He replied.

Naomi hurried off back to Naruto and Gaara. Before Naruto could even ask her what that was all about she began. "Come with me for a sec guys. I need to tell you something." She stated and dragged them out of the store.

"So you guys ready to love me?" She asked once they had left the store and sat around in some chairs to talk.

Gaara glanced at her to signal he was listening and Naruto responded. "Sure? What was going on with you and that employee guy?" He asked.

"I got you guys a chance at a gig." She answered excitedly.

"What?" They both asked at the same time.

"The store, they're hosting a battle of the bands kind of thing for local new bands. I was able to get you in for an audition. The manager wants to hear you guys play in an hour and if he likes you, you're in." She explained while handing them the flyer she was given about the event.

"I thought this was already filled up." Gaara muttered as he looked over it.

"I was able to get them to consider tweaking the times. That's why you need to perform today." She answered.

"Ah-ha! So that explains the flirting!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naomi shrugged. "Well he was trying to flirt with me first. When he mentioned the event I thought I might be able to play it to my advantage and get you guys in."

Naruto hugged her tightly in gratitude and excitement. "Ah Naomi! You crafty little minx you! This is it! This is a chance at the break we've been looking for!" Naruto exclaimed as he glomped her.

"Thanks Naomi." Gaara muttered.

"Well what are we waiting for? Get Sasuke and Neji over here. We got to get ready for this." Naomi responded grinning.

Naruto released her and pulled out his cell phone, calling right away. "Sasuke!" He exclaimed once he had picked up.

"What dobe?" He asked.

"Get your ass to the mall pronto!"

"Why?"

'I'll explain when you get here now get over here stat!" He ordered and hung up on him before quickly calling Neji and having a similar conversation.

They only had to wait around for twenty minutes before the two showed up. "What's going on?" Neji asked when they reached them.

"Yeah where's the fire?" Sasuke asked boredly.

"We got an audition in thirty minutes." Naruto explained.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Naomi got us a chance at performing in this." Gaara explained, showing them the flyer. "We just need to audition for it." He finished.

"Seriously?" They both asked.

"Yep." Naomi answered happily.

"Alright then." They both responded.

"Well what are you going to play?" Neji asked.

"Hmm 'Your Betrayal'?" Gaara suggested.

"Oh yeah that one's got the sick intro." Naruto responded.

"Let's do it." Sasuke stated.

Shortly after that they went back into the store to get ready. "We're back." Naomi stated when they reentered the place.

"Hey. This the band?" The guy asked looking at them all.

'Yup. Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, Neji." She stated pointing to them all.

"Hmm well you're early so I'll show you guys to where you'll audition and you can set up and warm up a bit." He stated and led them down the hall.

He let them into a large room that was mostly empty but for a few instruments and equipment. The guys quickly began looking over the instruments and Naomi stood next to the door so she could be out of their way.

"I never did catch your name." The guy stated, leaning against the wall next to her.

"Oh, Naomi." She stated.

"I'm Jiro." He replied with a grin.

He opened his mouth to say more but was cut off by Naruto. "Hey Naomi! Want to go lend Gaara a hand?" Naruto cut in. He, Sasuke, and Neji were busying setting up the drum set and Gaara was gathering together the mic and guitars.

"Sure thing!" Naomi replied and quickly slipped away to Gaara; missing the annoyed glare Jiro sent at the blonde and the cheeky grin Naruto sent back.

"Take the base." Gaara stated when she reached him and handed it out to her.

Naomi grabbed it and brought it over to where they were setting up the drums. Then she helped Gaara drag over an amp and they hooked everything up.

"Alright well it's about time so I'll go get my boss." Jiro stated and slipped out.

"Here ya go Neji." Naomi stated; handing him the base once everything was set.

"Thanks." He responded and smirked lightly. "If my shirt's bothering you that much I can take it off again." He muttered quietly.

Naomi blush brightly. She _had_ been staring at his clothed torso but while she was staring she was recalling this morning and thinking that she's seen too many of her guy friends without shirts. "What? Oh no, slight misunderstanding. I was just thinking that-

She began, not wanting him to get the wrong idea but before she could finish explaining Jiro had come back with his boss. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah we're ready." Naruto answered.

"Good luck guys." Naomi stated to all of them and quickly went and stood beside Jiro and his boss. "Hey." She greeted when she reached him and shook his hand.

"Hello. Jiro told me you wanted to show me your friends' band so let's see what they got." He stated. "When you're ready." He added; addressing the boys. The guys nodded to each other and began.

~Your Betrayal by Bullet for My Valentine~

_Am I going insane?  
My blood is boiling inside of my veins  
An evil feeling attacks  
My body's shaking, there's no turning back  
Don't take your eyes off the trigger  
I'm not to blame if your world turns to black  
As your eyes start to blister  
There's just no hope for our final embrace_

_So here we are..._  
_I'm in your head..._  
_I'm in your heart!_

_You were told to run away_  
_Soak the place, and light the flame_  
_Pay the price for your betrayal_  
_Your betrayal, your betrayal!_

_I was told to stay away_  
_Those two words I can't obey_  
_Pay the price for your betrayal_  
_Your betrayal, your betrayal!_

_Is it my turn to die?_  
_My heart is pounding as I say goodbye_  
_So now I dance in the flames_  
_I love you crying and screaming my name_

_You said that we'd be forever_  
_How could you kill me and lie to my face?_  
_Now that we can't be together_  
_There's just no hope for our final embrace_  
_So here we are, I'm in your head_  
_I'm in your heart!_

_You were told to run away_  
_Soak the place, and light the flame_  
_Pay the price for your betrayal_  
_Your betrayal, your betrayal!_

_I was told to stay away_  
_Those two words I can't obey_  
_Pay the price for your betrayal_  
_Your betrayal, your betrayal!_

_GO!_

_So here we are (so here we are, I'm in your head)_  
_(I'm in your head)_  
_I'm in your heart!_

_You were told to run away_  
_Soaked the place and light the flame_  
_Pay the price for your betrayal_  
_Your betrayal, your betrayal!_

_I was told to stay away_  
_Those two words I can't obey_  
_Pay the price for your betrayal_  
_Your betrayal, your betrayal!_

"When they had finished Naomi was grinning, Jiro was staring, and his boss looked pretty impressed. "Well what do you think?" Naomi asked

"Oh yeah, they're in." The boss stated grinning.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered, punching air in victory and the other three just looked relieved.

"Ha-ha let me go grab some stuff and we'll set you guys up right away." He continued and quickly went back to his office.

"Got to admit, they're pretty good." Jiro stated, now a bit concerned for the competition.

"Yeah they are. That was great guys." Naomi responded and cheered.

Thirty minutes later and they had everything straightened out. Times were tweaked so everyone got to play the same amount and they'd be going last. Then they filled out all the information needed and were good to go. They left the store and headed back into the mall.

"So now what?" Naomi asked once they started walking.

"I'm going to head back home." Neji stated.

"Yeah I guess I'm done disturbing Naomi's and Gaara's day together too." Naruto stated with a grin (not missing Neji's eyes narrow slightly).

"I'm out of here too. Oh Naomi, your sister said for you to come over to my place whenever you're done being out." Sasuke stated boredly.

"Oh yay is it fun sleep over time again? This time you must let me do your hair and nails Sasuke." Naomi joked in annoyance.

"Don't look at me I didn't say you could stay the night. Itachi did and your sister already brought over some of your shit. I'm just passing on a message." He retorted.

"Man I can't tell if your brother is being so helpful to me in hopes of getting with my sister or just likes to see you suffer." Naomi stated shaking her head.

"Probably both." Sasuke muttered in annoyance.

"Well my car's at Gaara's place so I'll go home with him and then head over there." Naomi stated boredly and oblivious to the glare Neji now sent at Gaara.

"Remember how to get there?"

"Yeah Megumi's dragged me over there enough times I should by now."

With that said they all split up and Gaara and Naomi headed back to his car. The ride back to his house was silent and Naomi tried not to doze off.

"Thanks for the ride Gaara and thanks again for letting me hang out with you." She stated when they arrived back at his house. "I had fun and if we didn't I might not have been able to get you a chance at that gig." She added grinning.

"You didn't have to..." Gaara muttered.

"Have to what, help you out?" She asked confused.

"You didn't have to flirt with that guy to help me." He clarified, still muttering.

"Oh that. It's fine. I suppose it was probably wrong of me but whatever. I wanted to help you guys out and that was my chance." She stated shrugging.

"He'll probably look for you at the event." He continued.

"Hmm then I'll just tell him... I'll tell him you're my boyfriend. Ha! That'll stop him dead in his tracks; you got the look and attitude for scaring people off so it'll work." She laughed. Gaara blinked at her in surprise. "I'm kidding Gaara." She stated while she laughed and opened the car door. "Anyway it's fine I didn't mind doing it for you guys. Besides you can think of it as repayment for letting me annoy you all day." She added and stepped out of the car.

"I didn't mind..." He muttered very quietly while getting out of the car.

"What?" She asked, not hearing him.

"Nothing. I'll see you later." He responded.

"Ok then." She muttered in confusion. "Well off to go hang with my babysitter, bleh." She joked and made a face. "See ya later." She called as she got to her car. She waved to him and then got into her car and left.

Gaara watched her leave before heading back inside his house, surprised to find a nosy Kankuro and Temari waiting there for him.

"So who's the girl?" Temari asked. "Kankuro said you came home with a girl earlier then slipped out with her." She added.

"A girl from school." Gaara responded

"She your girlfriend? Took you guys awhile to get out of that car when you pulled up. Kissing?" Kankuro asked.

"What were you spying out the window?" Gaara demanded while giving him a glare.

"Maybe." They both answered.

"Whatever and no to both." He muttered walking to the stairs to go to his room.

"So who is she then? I've never seen her." Temari pressed.

"She's only been at my school for a month." Gaara responded.

"Oh, she must be that chick Shikamaru was talking about." Temari muttered thoughtfully.

"You're still dodging the question Gaara." Kankuro pressed.

"She's just... a friend." Gaara muttered going to his room and escaping his pestering siblings.

Naomi got to the Uchiha manor and sighed. A smile made its way onto her face as she recalled today's events. "Heh, maybe Hinata was onto something last night." She muttered, brushing her hair out of her face. She knocked on the door and Sasuke opened it.

"Took you long enough. What did you get lost or stop to suck face?" He teased when he let her in.

"Shut up Duckbutt. Not even." She growled as she walked in.

"What? Naruto said you two were out all day together. I assumed you were on a date or something." He stated.

"Whatever." She stated shaking her head. She then paused remembering something. "Speaking of Naruto" She began, smirking widely. "I knew you were _that_ way." She stated playfully.

"That way?" He asked confused.

"I mean you have hordes of fan girls all pledging their unending love to you and nothing." She continued. "Guess you go for the blonde idiots." She added.

"Excuse me?" He demanded, beginning to see where this was going.

"Don't need to be shy about it I mean you guys already kissed." She responded.

"It was an accident! We were twelve! Some asshole pushed him into me! It didn't happen on purpose and we were kids!" He responded glaring daggers at her.

"Ha Naruto shouted the same thing today." She laughed.

"I'm straight." He growled.

"Whatever you say emo boy." She teased.

Itachi and Megumi watched the two bicker all the way up the stairs and down the hall to the TV room upstairs. "Ha they act like could be siblings." Megumi laughed and Itachi chuckled.

Naomi sighed as she plopped onto the bed in the guestroom she always stayed in. It had been a pretty long day and she was ready to crash. She grinned as she recalled the day's high lights before sleep claimed her.


	4. Study Night and Danger

Well took me forever but here is chapter four to Behind Blue Eyes. Once again nice and long. Hope you all like it and reviews are loved.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to it's rightful owner. The only things I own are my ideas.

* * *

When Monday rolled around Naomi found herself eager to go to school for some unknown reason. She got there and looked around for some of her friends but didn't spot any of them at first. She looked around a bit closer and spotted Shikamaru sitting at the school steps. She grinned and wandered over to him, sitting down beside him.

"Sup Shika?" She asked "Where is everybody?" She added.

"Dunno, around." He answered with a shrug. "Gaara's with the other three for some type of emergency band meeting." He added.

"Who said I was looking for Gaara?" She asked though feeling slightly disappointed after hearing he wasn't around.

"Just a guess." He replied with a smirk. "Temari said you two were hanging out all day Saturday."

"Temari?"

"Gaara's older sister."

"Ah. I only met his brother. She a friend of yours then?"

"Yeah, her and Kankuro are friends with the gang. They're just really busy with college these days so probably why you haven't met them yet."

"Ah cool." She replied.

When the bell rang she went to History with Naruto and spent the hour talking to him and Hinata as they worked (Kakashi had them doing book work so he didn't really care). As she headed towards English she began getting that same eager/nervous feeling in her gut.

"Hey Gaara." She greeted when she walked in and took her seat.

"Hey." He muttered.

"What's up?" She asked and he shrugged. "As talkative as ever." She muttered sarcasm but grinned.

"Not going to say hi to me Naomi?" Shikamaru cut in smirking.

"Oh hey Shika." She waved and went back to talking to Gaara.

Shikamaru smirked again and leaned over to her to whisper in her ear. "Still wonder why I figured you'd be looking for him?" He whispered.

Naomi flushed pink for a moment and glared at him but ignored him (and Gaara) and focused on the class now with unnecessary focus.

When English was over Naomi walked with Gaara to Chemistry. It was silent as ever but she was getting used to silence now and it didn't bother her as much as it did. When class began Naomi went to help Gaara again and they got to work quietly.

"I'm amazed. You've managed to come to class for two weeks straight it's a record." Orochimaru stated as he appeared behind them. Naomi jumped in surprise but Gaara remained unfazed. "Your grades are also improving slightly as well. No doubt due to the help of your new friend." He continued nodding to Naomi

"Yeah I help him a lot." Naomi replied.

"Just remember the test we're taking tomorrow you have to do alone. I hope you've been studying after all she can't help you." He finished and slipped off to go scare some other students.

"You know he's really fucken creepy." Naomi muttered as he left. Gaara remained silent and she looked at him, expecting at least an agreement or a smirk or something. "Something wrong?" She asked, he seemed to be in deep thought about something.

"Naomi would you..." He began and she blinked at how uncomfortable he looked (and also tried to ignore the sudden wave of nervousness/excitement that erupted in her stomach). "...want to... come over... after school... to study?" He asked awkwardly.

"Oh um sure. No problem." She replied (the sudden wave now gone). She paused and then grinned. "Man you're really not used to asking for help are you?" She added while giggling.

"Whatever." He muttered sulking.

"What about band practice? Shouldn't you guys be getting ready for that concert?" She asked curiously.

"Naruto's got a game tonight and Sasuke's got a dentist appointment so there's no practice today."

"Oh, ok."

Once class was over Naomi headed to lunch with Gaara and Neji flanking her sides. As they got closer to the cafeteria she told them to go ahead and she went to the bathroom. On the way back she called her dad and got permission to go over after school. She went and got her lunch and then sat down with her friends.

"Dad says it's cool." She stated to Gaara as she sat down.

"What's cool?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh I'm going over to his house after school to..." She paused for a moment, she didn't know if Gaara wanted everyone to know he was getting help when he was so uncomfortable asking for it in the first place. "chill for a bit." She finished.

"Oh. Cool." Naruto responded and went back to eating his lunch and Naomi missed the glare Neji sent into his food and him stabbing his lunch violently as he ate it.

"You two are really friendly these days." Sasuke teased.

"Whatever duck-butt." She muttered sticking her tongue out at him.

"Something we should know about?" Kiba added grinning.

"No." Naomi and Gaara both retorted shortly.

Neji looked up from his defenseless food as a thought occurred to him and he glanced at Naomi. "Hey Naomi do you still need help with your math? I can tutor you if you want..." He offered.

Before Naomi could answer him Gaara cut in. "I'm tutoring her." Gaara responded.

Gaara mentally blinked in confusion. Why the hell did he just blurt that out? It was true he was considering helping her with her math in return for all the chemistry help but he hadn't agreed to anything yet. Why was it the idea of Neji tutoring her (most likely alone) pissed him off so much? Moreover why did he get angry whenever she was hanging out with other guys or planning to? Why was it Neji being close to her pissed him off more then anything?

"What? You're seriously willingly helping someone?" Lee asked confused as everyone looked at Gaara in surprise (including Naomi).

"I owe her." He muttered, which was actually true so it wasn't a complete excuse to cover up what he just said.

"Well there's no reason you can't get help from both of us then. If you'd like some more help ask me, I'm a genius after all so I would be more help anyway." Neji stated.

"I'll keep it in mind." Naomi responded and most of the group missed the dirty looks Gaara and Neji were sending each other.

"So Tenten did you get permission for Friday?" Ino asked trying to change the subject.

"Yeah I'm good." She answered with a grin.

"What about you Naomi you in?" She asked.

"What's Friday?" She asked curiously.

"It's my birthday." She answered as if it was obvious.

"Oh cool. Happy birthday." Naomi replied.

"That's right we never told you our ages or birthdays or anything did we?" Sakura stated.

"Nope." She replied.

"Well technically my birthday's Thursday September 23rd but we're celebrating it on Friday." Ino explained. "I'll be turning seventeen." She added.

"I'm turning seventeen on Wednesday." Shikamaru stated.

"Cool, doing anything fun?" Naomi asked.

"Nah too troublesome, just dinner with the family." He answered.

"My 17th birthday is October 10th." Naruto stated eagerly.

"July 23rd." Sasuke stated boredly.

"March 20th." Sakura continued.

"May first." Choji chipped in.

"December 27th." Hinata mumbled shyly.

"July 7th." Kiba said.

"January 23rd." Shino muttered

"January 19th." Gaara muttered as well.

"Cool and you're all turning seventeen right?" Naomi asked and they nodded. "I turn seventeen July 20th." She added. "Ok so Tenten, Neji, Lee you guys are seniors right? So you're turning eighteen?" She finished.

"Yeah I turn 18 March 9th." Tenten answered.

"November 27th." Lee stated enthusiastically.

"And July 3rd." Neji finished.

"And Sai's a senior and turning 18 too then?" Naomi asked.

"Yep. Where is he today anyway?" Naruto asked curiously.

"He's sick." Ino answered. "So you're in though right Naomi?" She added.

"Yeah sure what will we be doing?"

"Us girls are just going to hang out at my place and then maybe go out to the movies or something." She answered

"Fun, I'll ask if I can." She answered.

Talk went all over the place until lunch was over and the day progressed normally. Naomi arrived with Neji to their art class and sat down at the table while the teacher passed out canvases to draw and paint on.

"What are we doing?" Naomi asked and Naruto and Choji shrugged.

Their teacher Sasori finished handing out canvasses to everyone and he faced the class. "Alright today we're starting a new project. I'm going to set you up in pairs of two and you're each going to draw each other on the canvasses and when you're both done paint them. Understood?" He explained and a girl raised her hand.

"Are we going to be able to pick our partners?" She asked.

"No I'll pair you all up." He answered and set to work pairing everyone.

Naomi looked at her table, there were five of them so she wondered how it would work. It turned out that Choji was paired with a random girl who came and joined their table and Neji and Naomi were paired together. Lastly Naruto and Gaara were stuck together.

"Alright begin." Sasori stated and everyone got to work.

"You want to draw first?" Neji asked and Naomi shrugged.

"You can go first." She stated and grinned. "Just don't make me look ugly okay?" She laughed.

"That'd be impossible for you." He responded softly and Naomi stopped laughing. Her cheeks flared at the compliment and she looked down shyly before posing comfortably.

Gaara overheard them talking and glared daggers at Neji. Neji smirked smugly for a moment before getting to work. "Hey Gaara you going to draw yet?" Naruto snickered and Gaara turned his glare onto the blonde before starting to draw him in his retarded pose.

"Watch it Naruto or I'll give you a dumb curly French mustache." He muttered.

"Hey don't do that!" Naruto exclaimed. The table worked in somewhat silence for awhile, talking on occasion and every now and then Gaara kept glancing up from his work and looking at Naomi. He didn't know why he kept doing it, it was almost involuntary. It was even starting to annoy him a little. "Hey Gaara you're drawing me not her." Naruto muttered quietly, kicking Gaara in his shin to get his attention.

"Shut up." He growled and kicked him back.

"Neh." Naruto responded, sticking his tongue out at him.

When class was over everyone started packing their things and Naomi quickly stuffed her stuff in her bag. "Ok so I'll follow you with my car again then." She spoke to Gaara as they got ready to leave and he nodded.

They drove to his place and got inside. "Alright this time I want a tour ok? Last time all I got to see was your kitchen." Naomi stated as they walked in and took their shoes off.

"Fine." He responded.

Gaara showed her around the first floor briefly before heading upstairs. "Where's your siblings?" She asked curiously.

"Class. They won't get home till around five today." He replied.

"Ah." She responded and looking around at the rooms he showed her. "How old are they then if they're in college?"

"Kankuro's turning nineteen and Temari's turning twenty." He answered.

"Really? I figured they'd be older." She muttered.

"Why?"

"Well Sasuke said you live with your sibs so I assumed they were old enough to support you."

"No, two and three year old difference from me." He answered.

"So where are your parents?" She asked curiously, it was confusing that he lived with his siblings who were college students, no parents, and yet they were super rich.

"Mom died, dad just doesn't like to stick around much." He muttered quietly.

"Oh." She responded unsure of what to say.

Gaara showed her around some more and then showed her to his room. It was rather dark looking (much like him). The walls were painted black and had blood red borders. She noticed from the ajar door his closet was also blood red. The floor was a plush black carpet, dark cherry wood furniture (a queen sized bed, a dresser, desk, bookshelf, and table with a TV on it), black curtains and a Gothic bed set. There were posters, band posters, and Gothic pictures all over the walls. For a teenage guys room it was pretty clean. There was stuff on the desk and dresser and a pile of dirty clothes in the corner but otherwise it was rather clean.

"Cheery." She laughed as she looked around at everything and he just shrugged. He threw his bag beside his bed and pulled a T-shirt out from his dresser, tossing it onto his bed and started unbuttoning his shirt. "What are you doing!" She blushed, trying hard not to stare.

"Changing my shirt? I want out of my uniform." He answered as if it was obvious. He stared at her for a moment and mentally smirked. "Didn't think it'd bother you after trying to rip my clothes off the other day." He stated and her blush darkened.

"I thought we went over that already." She snapped blushing and he just shook his head taking off his shirt and tossing it into the laundry basket.

Naomi tried not to be too obvious with her staring but couldn't really help it. She stood there mentally drooling, but as she stared she again noted a large nasty looking scar on his chest near his shoulder. She stared at it curiously and decided to ask about it this time. "How'd you get that?" She asked.

"Get what?" He asked confused.

"The scar." She clarified and pointed at it.

"Oh." He responded and sat on the bed and pulling his T-shirt on. "Long story." He added.

"Well we got the time." She responded sitting down beside him.

"Why do you want to know?" He retorted.

"Curious?" She answered. "We're friends right?" She added.

"I guess.." He muttered, nodding slowly.

"Friends tell each other about themselves." She continued inwardly cheering gleefully at his admitting they were friends now.

Gaara sighed and laid back on his bed; staring up at his ceiling. "Sasuke gave it to me." He stated.

"Huh?" Naomi asked confused.

"The scar. It was from Sasuke." He clarified.

"Sasuke? I thought you were friends? How the hell did he give you that nasty of a scar?" She asked in surprise and confusion.

"We weren't always friends." He replied. "I wasn't the nicest person for awhile..." He added sitting up again.

"Not nice? Gee I never would have noticed." She teased lightly.

"Do you want to know or not?" He retorted.

"Fine, fine, no teasing." She responded, grinning.

"It's only been these past few years that I've actually had any friends. I didn't have the best past..." He began.

"What happened?" She asked curiously.

"My mother died when giving birth to me... " He began.

"Wow going that far back? You're right it is a long story." She cut in giggling and he glared. "Sorry I'll be quiet." She responded.

"She died and for whatever reason my family blamed me for her death because of that.." He began.

"How is that your fault?" She demanded in annoyance, that was just cruel to blame a child for birth complications.

"Don't know but they did." He replied and continued. "My father is the head of a huge company and hardly ever comes home, he's always traveling. Doesn't give a damn about me either. Growing up it was just my siblings, me, and my uncle. When I was little I thought my uncle was the only one who loved me, he was the only one to treat me kindly and I thought cared about me."

"Thought?" Naomi asked curiously.

"He was my mother's twin and took her death pretty hard. Like the rest of my family he blamed me for her death, when I was six, he went off the deep end and tried to kill me for 'killing her'." He answered darkly.

"What?" Naomi asked in disbelief.

"Obviously he didn't succeed. He went to the nuthouse instead of prison and killed himself there. Another thing I got blamed for; making our uncle go crazy and kill himself... Never mind the fact that he tried to kill me I'm still to blame..."

"That's not your fault." Naomi retorted irritated that he kept getting blamed for these things.

"Needless to say I was a very violent child. Dad spoiled me and the other two but was never home to give us love, uncle tried to kill me, and siblings blamed me for ruining our family. I was always getting into fights, lashing out at anybody who crossed me or looked at me funny. I never understood why I had to be treated that way, why everyone hated me, why I couldn't have friends, I did what anyone would do and lashed out against everyone and everything. For years my siblings were afraid of me. When I was twelve my father finally had to stop turning a blind eye to it all. Instead of coming home to do something about it he sent the three of us here to Konoha. Set up a house for us, charged servants to watch over us and enrolled us in school. He had hoped moving to a new place would help us start over."

"It did didn't it? That's why you're like this now right?"

"Yeah but not at first. At first nothing changed, Temari and Kankuro were still afraid of me and I still lashed out at everyone. That's how I met Naruto and them. Sasuke- though he had friends unlike me was a bit like me, he held a lot of anger and resentment in his eyes too and had a lot of the same hate." He continued.

"From his family dying?"

"More than likely." He answered. "I viewed him as a challenge and decided to fight him. It was a pretty brutal fight and it soon turned into us trying to kill each other. I got this during the fight- " He paused to point to where the scar was. "and it pushed me over the edge. I was determined to kill him for that. I got close to it too, then Sakura got involved. She got in my way to protect him though she knew she couldn't fight me..." He paused.

"You attacked her?" Naomi asked knowingly.

"Not too bad... Just one smack that knocked her out of the way." He answered "But that got Naruto involved. I hurt both of his friends and pissed him off so we went at it. He ended up beating the shit out of me."

"Naruto kicked your ass?" Naomi asked surprised.

"Yeah... I changed because of that fight." He answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto was just like me, he was alone, he didn't have a family, the city marked him as an outcast, he grew up being treated the same way I was yet he didn't lash out at the world. He was finally able to make a friend and more came with it. At first I viewed friendship as weakness, I was alone so I was convinced I didn't need anyone that I was stronger on my own. But Naruto was able to beat me because of his friends, he had so much power because of his anger at me hurting his friends. I understood that it wasn't a weakness it was a strength. I began to wonder, if we were so much alike why couldn't I make friends? That made me realize I'd be alone the rest of my life if I didn't change. I figured if Naruto could do it so could I. I've been trying to change since then. I apologized to Sasuke and Sakura and Lee too."

"You beat up Lee too?"

"Yeah, before my fight with Sasuke. I... broke his arm and leg..." He answered.

"Ouch..." She muttered.

"So I apologized and worked on being a better person. Siblings and I get along now and despite the fighting when we first met I made friends with all of them."

"So it worked out in the end." Naomi stated with a smile.

"You're not running from my room screaming? Having a raging psychopath as a friend doesn't bother you?" He asked and she detected some slight humor in his first statement.

"Nope not at all. What bothers me is how you were treated. That wasn't right." She stated "But then... there's families like that..." She muttered quietly. "At any rate, it doesn't bother me. I understand why you were how you were. I know how you felt..." She finished.

"How do you how I felt?"

"Heh because we're a lot alike I guess. Trust me, I know how it feels not being wanted even in your own family and being blamed for things you have no control over." She answered sadly.

"What do you mean?"

She didn't really want to talk about it again but figured she should. He told her his life story it was only fair she returned the favor. She explained to him exactly what she told Hinata (though he didn't ask many questions). " I know your pain." She finished.

"I guess you do..." Gaara muttered.

"Though I did fight I don't think I was quite as violent as you." She joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Probably not, doesn't sound like you've ever tried to kill someone before." He responded.

"Nope. Though the thought of killing certain people has crossed my mind before." She laughed.

"Guess you're crazy like me too." Gaara joked lightly; she wouldn't have been able to tell it was a joke if not for the small smirk that flashed on his face.

"Did the great doom and gloom Gaara just try to be funny?" She laughed and he shrugged. "Well we psychos got to stick together." She stated, pushing him jokingly. "Now that we've shared these tear-jerking emo stories together we are officially close friends." She decided.

"We are?" He asked curiously.

"Yep. Which means, as a close friend of yours, I have the right to now snoop around your room." She laughed and got up to go explore his room. She wandered around the room examining knickknacks and such as she went and thought about random things. "So you've tried to model yourself after Naruto a bit right?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Does that mean you'd protect your friends and risk your life for them too?" She asked curiously.

"It's never happened yet but... yeah I guess I would." He answered thoughtfully.

"So as your friend you'd protect me too right?" She asked curiously.

"I guess." He answered shrugging.

"Heh sweet." She responded grinning.

Naomi wandered over to his desk and looked at all the stuff on it. "Your drawings?" She asked as she picked up a drawing notebook. Gaara nodded and got up to stand beside her. "Can I see 'em?" She asked.

"No." Gaara responded quickly and snatched it away from her.

"Aww why not?" She pouted.

"Because." He replied lamely.

"Why not? I've seen your work in class, you're a good artist." She pressed.

"No."

"What is it like a diary or something?" She teased.

"No I just don't want you to see."

"Please?" She begged.

Gaara sighed in annoyance. As she begged he carefully slipped a folded piece of paper out of the notebook and hid it in his back pocket. "Here" He decided and handed her the notebook. "So you'll shut up." He added.

"Yay!" She cheered and began flipping through the pictures. They were mostly dark and gruesome pics in graphic details. As she flipped through the book Gaara watched curiously. "They're really good." She decided when she was done.

"Thanks.." He muttered and placed it back on his desk after she handed it back to him.

"Heh it's not fair that you're so talented Mr. Famous-Rock-Star-Artist." She laughed.

"I'm not famous, or a rock star." He retorted.

"Not yet but you will be." She responded with a grin.

Gaara opened his mouth to say something but as he did they heard the front door close. "Sibs are back." He muttered.

"Already? Damn we've been talking for awhile." She laughed.

"I guess so."

"Well come on, I want to go meet these siblings of yours." She stated.

They left his room and wandered back down stairs to go find them. Temari and Kankuro were in the living room when they got down there.

"There you are Gaara." Kankuro stated when he saw him come in and paused when he saw Naomi. "Hey again." He waved.

"Hey, you're dressed this time." She laughed.

"Yeah sorry about that." He apologized embarrassed.

"It's cool." She responded with a shrug.

"So you're Naomi?" Temari stated, coming over and shaking her hand.

"Yeah, Temari right?" She responded.

Naomi looked her over as they shook hands. Temari was very pretty, she had short, choppy layered, dirty blonde hair that stopped just above her shoulders, bangs that framed her face, and deep blue/green eyes. She looked to be a good four or five inches taller then Naomi and had a skater/rock kind of appearance to her. Though she had a tough girl look to her she also had a rather nice figure; curvy and well developed.

"Nice to finally meet you." Temari stated when she too was done looking her over.

"Ditto." Naomi grinned.

"Shikamaru's told me a little bit about you." Temari continued.

"Yeah same here, he mentioned you this morning actually." Naomi responded.

"Really? What he say?" She asked.

"Nothing much really, just who you were." Naomi answered, and noted how Temari's eyes lit up when she said Shikamaru talked about her. A little something she was going to have to ask her lazy friend about.

"Quit hogging Gaara's girl Temari." Kankuro laughed.

"Oops, sorry. Well glad to see my baby brother's bringing home a girl." Temari grinned and Gaara glared darkly at both of them..

"I already told you she's just a friend." Gaara growled at her.

"Just teasing you bro." Kankuro grinned.

"Whatever, morons." He grumbled and grabbed Naomi's wrist, pulling her out of the living room and back up to his room. "They're idiots." He grumbled as he let go of her wrist and they walked back up the stairs.

"It's cool, my sis did the same thing the first time Naruto came over. Must be a big sibling thing; teasing about something that's nonexsistent." She responded.

When they got back to Gaara's room they set to work on what they actually planned on doing. An hour or so of studying later Temari came up with some take out for them and over dinner Naomi quizzed Gaara on what they had studied. By nine o'clock they had studied all the could, did their actual homework, and Gaara returned the favor by with Naomi's math.

"See ya tomorrow." Naomi stated as Gaara walked with her to the door. "Later Temari, Kankuro!" She called and they both shouted a similar response from somewhere in the house.

"Bye." Gaara muttered and shut the door after she left.

Gaara made it to the stairs before his siblings appeared and stopped him. "So..." Kankuro began with a wide smirk.

"So?" Gaara asked wirily.

"Study night huh?" He asked.

"What of it?" Gaara responded.

"You sly dog, using that as an excuse." He laughed patting him on the back proudly.

"It wasn't an excuse. That's why she was here." He responded in irritation.

"Well she seems nice and she's cute. I approve." Temari decided also patting him on the back.

"Idiots." Gaara grumbled and left them to go to his room, it'd be pointless to try argue with them about it.

Gaara went back to his room and cleaned up the mess they had made before sitting down at his desk. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the paper he unfolded it and looked down at it. After staring for a moment he pulled out some pencils and started working on finishing the drawing.

When Gaara finished the picture he set his pencil down and looked it over. It looked just like her... Sighing he folded the paper back up and shoved it in his desk. What was wrong with him? Now he was drawing pictures of Naomi?. Shaking his head he turned away from his desk.

For the rest of the week things passed pretty boringly for Naomi. With the help of the studying Gaara managed to pass that test and she spent her art classes talking and laughing (though she was doing the laughing) with Neji, completely oblivious it the death glares Gaara was sending Neji behind her back (Neji continued to remain smug from all the irritation he was causing Gaara). It was now Friday and she was sitting up in her room bored. She had asked earlier on in the week if she could go to Ino's party but she was told she couldn't go. Sighing and staring at her ceiling she heard her phone ring.

"Yo?" She greeted when she answered.

"Hey what you doing?" Ino asked from the other end.

"Staring at my ceiling."

"How fun."

"Yeah well Mom wouldn't let me go to your party so bored now."

"Yeah. We were thinking of heading out to the movies. You think you could go to that?"

"I don't know..."

"Well technically you're not asking to go to a party..." She stated.

"True..." Naomi sat up. "I'll go ask." She decided.

Naomi got up and after maneuvering her way around her dogs she got out of her room and went down stairs to the living room. She saw her mom watching TV. "Hey can I go to the movies?" She asked as she strolled into the room.

"No." Her mom responded shortly.

"What, why not?"

"I said so."

"It's Friday night, you already won't let me go to one of my friends' party and now you're not going to let me go to the movies?"

"Nope."

Naomi glared in annoyance before marching out of the room and walking over to her dad's office. She walked inside and looked at him. "Hey daddy can I go to the movies?" She asked hopefully.

"That's sudden." He muttered in surprise.

"Well mom wouldn't let me go to a party and it's Friday night so me and a few friends wanted to go catch a movie. Please?" She explained.

"Sure why not."

"Yay thank you dad!" She replied happily and ran out of the room. "I can go." She told Ino when she went back to her phone.

"Awesome we'll be there to pick you up in twenty minutes." Ino replied happily and they got off the phone.

Naomi went around her room and dug up some clothes to wear. She threw on a a pair of black shorts, some studded belts that hung around her hips for decoration, some gray and black thigh high stockings, black skate shoes, and a gray tank top with black lining and black skull designs along the right side. She brushed and straightened her hair and put on some makeup before throwing on some jewelry. By the time she got her purse and everything she wanted shoved in there Ino was texting her and telling her they were there.

Naomi grabbed Ino's gift and sped out of her room and down the stairs. "I'm leaving!" She shouted through the house to let her dad know she was gone and was out the door. Naomi waved to the girls and headed over to Ino's blue convertible. "Hey!" She waved.

"Hey, just hop in the back." Ino greeted.

Hinata moved over into the middle to make room for her and Naomi hopped in the backseat with her and Tenten, Sakura was up front with Ino. "Alright lets go." Naomi stated once she was buckled. As they drove Naomi looked over at the girls.

Tenten was wearing a pair of short, light blue, jean shorts that had a signed fringe around the bottom to look like they were cut offs and designed rips on the shorts themselves. Her shoes were white and red tennis shoes, she had on a white spaghetti strap shirt with red trim and it was a low cut, v-neck. Her usual braided hair was down and straight, she had a little bit of makeup and a few pieces of jewelry.

Hinata was wearing a pair of dark blue pants, black wedges, and a three-quarter-length sleeved, V-neck, light lavender, shirt. She had on a simple silver necklace with a small charm, a charm bracelet, and a little make up . Her hair was how it usually was, down and straight.

Sakura was wearing a dark pink miniskirt, black thigh high stockings, black heals, and a light pink top. The top was snug fitting (showing off her curves), had sleeves that went over her hands to around her fingers, and there were dark pink hearts around the bottom of the shirt, the sleeves, and the rounded cut. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, covered in black cloth and tied with string with hearts hanging down from it. Her bangs were left in her face, she had a few pieces of jewelry and make up on.

Ino was wearing a purple midriff halter top with silver swirl designs on it, a black miniskirt, and black knee high heeled boots. Her hair like always in a ponytail, jewelry, and makeup. Her jewelry was a silver necklace, a charm bracelet, and silver hoops.

"Ok so we're meeting up with some of the guys at the movie theater too." Ino stated as they drove.

"Oh?" Naomi asked curiously.

"Yeah I invited Naruto for Hinata." Sakura explained with a grin.

"And he convinced Sai, Sasuke, Gaara, and Lee to come with him too." Ino added.

"Ok then." Naomi stated. "Some type of hidden motive I think?" Naomi added with a grin.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about." Sakura responded quickly.

"Mhm sure." Naomi laughed.

"Hey why do you think we got Naruto to bring Gaara along?" Ino laughed.

"What do you mean?" Naomi asked confused.

"Don't play dumb." Tenten laughed nudging her lightly.

"Huh?" Naomi responded.

"We all know you like him." Sakura laughed.

"What?" Naomi jumped, blushing brightly. "I don't like him." She added quickly, her blush darkening. "We're just friends." She finished shaking her head no.

"Yeah ok." Ino, Sakura, and Tenten all responded at the same time. Hinata just patted her shoulder comfortingly while fighting a smile.

"Whatever." Naomi responded.

They got to the movie theater/mall and as to be expected on a Friday night it was packed so they had to park pretty far away in the far end of the parking lot. "Man I hate walking." Sakura complained as they walked.

"Shouldn't have warn heels then." Naomi laughed.

"Hey, heels make us look good." Ino laughed as she examined the gift Naomi gave her. Naomi wasn't too sure what to get her so she figured she couldn't go wrong with jewelry for someone like Ino. She got her a set of three hair clips: a flower, a butterfly, and a heart, all silver with fake diamonds forming the shapes. "Thanks again for the clips." She thanked as she took out her plain ones and replaced them with those.

"No problem." She responded. "So how come Temari's not with us too?" She added curiously.

"She couldn't make it. She's got a couple of tests on Monday to cram for and a research paper due Monday to finish as well. So she's stuck at home getting Shikamaru to help her finish all that up." Sakura answered.

"What's the deal with those two?" Naomi asked curiously, she hadn't had a chance to ask Shikamaru about it.

"They're just really good friends. Personally I think there's something there between them but at the moment they're just friends." Ino answered.

"Ah." Naomi responded, nodding in understanding.

They got to the theater and after buying their tickets went inside. They were planning on seeing a new release so as to be expected there was a line they had to wait in. However they saw that the guys were already there and slipped into the line with them.

"Hey girls." Naruto and Lee waved when they reached them. Sai and Sasuke both nodded in acknowledgment.

"Where's Gaara?" Ino asked curiously.

"He's running late. He's on his way now though so he should be here soon." Naruto answered. He then leaned over to whisper in her ear. "He wouldn't agree to come until I was sure Naomi was coming." He whispered to her and Ino grinned knowingly.

The group stood around boredly for awhile. Idly chatting as they passed the time standing in line. Ino dug through her purse for something and then groaned. "What's the matter?" Sai asked curiously.

"I left my wallet in the car." She grumbled in annoyance. "On the way up we had to make a sharp turn to avoid some asshole cutting us off and my purse fell over, the stuff spilled out into the back seat and we must've missed my wallet." She explained.

"How'd you get your ticket then?" Naruto asked.

"We're out for her birthday so I bought the ticket for her." Sakura answered.

"I'll go run back to your car and go get it for you." Naomi offered.

"You sure?" Ino asked.

"Yeah no problem, beats standing around here bored. I'll be right back just save my place in line." She answered.

"Alright, be careful it's dark." Ino replied as Naomi left with her keys.

Naomi walked through the parking lot sighing boredly. She really wished they were able to park closer. Muttering to herself she finally reached Ino's car and unlocked it. They put the hood up earlier so she wasn't able just to reach in and look around. She crawled into the back seat and after digging for a few minutes she found the wallet under the driver's seat.

"There you are you little bugger." She muttered and stuck it in her purse.

Naomi crawled out of the car, locked the door and then turned around to head back but froze. Three guys maybe a few years older than herself were standing there. Choosing not to panic she quickly looked down and turned to walk the other way, imagining they were just going to their car.

"Hey girl." One called out to her.

_'Shit.'_ Naomi cursed. "Uhh sorry I don't speak English." She tried lamely, eying possible escape routes.

"You're speaking it right now." One of the boys retorted.

"Hmm well love to stay and chat but I really should be going back to my friends now." She tried, starting to back away from them.

"Give us your bag." One demanded, approaching her.

"What this? There's nothing of real importance in this." She responded nervously _'Aside from my wallet, Ino's wallet, a cell phone, IPod, credit cards, and cash.' _She thought.

"Hand it over." He ordered again.

Naomi took a deep breath, prayed for her safety since she knew what she was about to do was stupid, and started to hand the bag over to him. As he dropped his guard and reached for it she quickly glared, kneed him in the balls, and moved. She jumped back from him, leapt away from him and the other two, jumped onto the hood of Ino's car (she made a mental note to apologize to Ino later), and kicked one of them in the face as he reached for her. She leapt off to the other side of the car and ran between the cars in front of her, appearing into the lane and started to run towards the theater (again cursing that they had to park so far away).

The three guys quickly followed her and chased after her, now pissed (and one with a broken nose). "Get back here!" They shouted after her.

"Leave me alone!" She shouted back.

One managed to catch up to her and stopped her in her tracks. She cursed and skidded around him, racing between cars and climbing on top of one again. "That trick isn't going to work twice." They snapped her and circled the car. Naomi glared and leapt off the car, right on top of one of them, bringing him to the ground.

"It just did." She responded as she got up fast and tried to run again. One of the other two blocked her path to the theater so she started to run the other way and think of a way to circle around and get closer to people. She could zig zag through cars but that was risky, it'll hinder their movements but also hers.

Naomi tried to run around one of them and got a few feet away from him before she was tackled and thrown to the ground. "Get off me!" She yelled as she struggled to throw him off. Her bag was ripped away from her and tossed off to the side. _'Damn it!' _She thought and continued to try to get free, forgetting the damn bag at this point.

"Keep her still." The apparent leader ordered as he rummaged through her bag. "Nothing important? Really now?" He stated as he looked through it and saw all the things in there.

Naomi suddenly found her face shoved into the asphalt by the third boy. She winched as she felt it cut her face. "That's for breaking my nose." He growled; words slightly hard to understand from the blood and injury. "Things could have gone so much smoother if you cooperated." He continued, shoving her face in the ground again.

"Piss off, you have my bag so let me go." She growled.

"I don't like your attitude." The leader muttered walking over. "And that kick happened to hurt."

"Tough shit, tell this fat ass to get off me and we can all pretend this never happened." She hissed.

"You sure have a hell of a mouth on you." The one pinning her snapped, and yanked her head back by her hair.

"Ow!" She hissed in pain. "Fuck you." She growled and wished her mouth knew how to shut up. She was terrified and all she could do was mouth off and make things worse for herself.

"What should we do with her?" The broken nose guy asked.

The leader stared down at her for a moment. "You had a pretty nice car. Care to hand over the car keys? They weren't in your bag." He stated. "Give us the keys and we'll let you go." He added.

"It's not my car." She gasped, trying to ignore the searing pain in her scalp from the guy pulling her hair to keep her looking up.

"That's a shame? The blonde's right?" He asked waving Ino's wallet at her and sticking it back in the bag. "She your friend? Wonder how she'll take it, you letting her wallet and car get stolen." The leader stated.

"You have both of our wallets, my IPod, and cell phone. Isn't that enough?" She growled.

"It could have been if you didn't run." He retorted. "Check her pockets for the keys." He ordered.

Naomi was yanked up so she was kneeling on all fours. A tight grip kept on her hair to keep her in place. With his other hand the guy holding her reached into her front pocket and pulled out the keys, tossing them to the leader and he dropped them into her bag.

"Can I go now?" Naomi pleaded, eyes watering in pain.

"What do you think boys?" The leader asked.

"I say she pays for all the trouble and my face." One of them stated.

"I kind of think we can get more out of her." The one holding her stated.

"Majority rules." The leader stated.

"I don't have anything else." Naomi hissed, now even more frightened.

"Well we can think of something I'm sure." The leader stated, crouching down in front of her and examining her. "You're rather attractive..."He stated and brushed her bangs out of her face. "How 'bout a kiss?" He asked, grasping her chin. "We can start with that..." He finished.

Naomi's eyes widened to the size of golf balls and as he leaned in to kiss her she panicked. She ignored the pain in her head and head butted him as hard as she could and twisted as hard as she could out of the boys grip. She broke free, jumped up and ran, dodging the one with the broken nose and bolting. She ran a good distance before smacking right into someone. She started to stumble backwards but they grabbed her and held onto her.

"Let go of me! Help!" She screamed, panic stricken by this point and not even seeing who grabbed her. "Help!" She screamed again.

"Naomi!" The person shouted, trying to get her to stop.

Naomi froze and looked up to see just who she smacked into. "Gaara!" She exclaimed in relief and latched onto him tightly. "Help me!" She begged him, eyes starting to water again this time from fear and relief and not pain.

The three boys who were chasing her skidded to a halt upon seeing Gaara holding her. "What's going on here?" Gaara demanded darkly.

Naomi looked up from Gaara's chest to glance at the boys. "Uhh nothing at all. Afraid we gave the girl a little start by accident." The leader stated eying Naomi. Naomi held onto Gaara tighter.

Gaara glanced down at Naomi's disheveled look and scratched up face before looking back at the boys and looking at the guy with a bloodied (and crooked nose) face, and then stared at the guy holding a woman's purse. "Right I'm sure that's what's going on." Gaara hissed and the three glared back at him.

"Just run along now girl, you got off lucky." The leader stated.

"Gaara lets go." Naomi muttered, just wanting to be safe now.

Gaara glared at them and stuck out his hand. "Give me the bag." He ordered.

"Excuse me?" One of the three demanded.

"I said hand it over. Give it back." He hissed.

"Gaara, come on, let's just go." Naomi begged.

"You should listen to the girl." Another retorted.

"I'm warning you now, give it back." Gaara hissed.

"Ha, dude there's three of us and one of you. I don't think you grasp the situation here." The broken nosed one stated.

"Gaara I don't care about my stuff let's just go." Naomi begged again. Gaara moved her behind him and cracked his knuckles as he took a few steps forward.

"I've been under way too much stress lately. Taking care of you three assholes will be a great remedy." He muttered darkly. "It's been way too long since my last fight." He added.

"You talk way to big you little shit." The leader stated and before he could say more found Gaara's fist in his mouth.

Naomi couldn't do anything but stare as she watched Gaara fight all three of them, and not get his ass kicked. He was knocking them around and beating the shit out of them. He was brutal as hell and went for all of their weaknesses. Naomi watched him fight and noticed a new persona take over him. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes and he grew a sadistic look on his face. He didn't even seem to care when he got hurt. In fact the guy with the broken nose managed to get a blow into his face and Gaara just laughed almost insanely before bashing the guys face into the ground.

Gaara got two of the boys to the ground and tackled the third, the one that had been restraining Naomi earlier. He had him pinned to the ground and was repeatedly punching him in the face with both fits, over and over again. He grew a wide sadistic smile as he did this too. Naomi could do nothing but stare with wide eyes, this new Gaara frightened her slightly. Naomi snapped out of her staring as movement caught her eye. The boy with the broken nose got up and pulled out a knife. Naomi's eyes widened even more as he went after Gaara.

"Gaara look out!" Naomi exclaimed.

Gaara looked up from the now unconscious boy in time to see it and blocked the guy. The knife cut into his arm and cut down it but he was able to knock it out of his hand, kick the guy in the gut causing him to stumble back, and grabbed the knife; turning it on him.

Naomi was too engrossed in watching this chaos to notice the leader had also gotten up. She didn't notice anything until a knife was suddenly being pressed to her throat and the guy grabbed onto her. Her eyes widened in fear and she let out a small meep in fear.

"Gaara!" She cried too afraid to struggle with the knife pressed into her throat.

"Drop the knife." He shouted at Gaara and Gaara didn't hear, too involved in his attacking. "Drop it or the girl gets it!" He shouted.

Gaara froze, his threat and Naomi's cry now registering in his mind and he stared at him. "Damn it." He growled.

"Drop it."

Gaara glared at him darkly but tossed the knife onto the ground. "Let her go." He ordered.

"I'm calling the shots." He snapped. "Now stand there perfectly still." He ordered and Gaara reluctantly obeyed, his eyes not leaving Naomi. "You and your little girlfriend have caused me way too much trouble tonight." He stated.

"Shouldn't have tried to rob me in the first place then." Naomi gasped.

"Be quiet." both he and Gaara ordered. Though Gaara's was more of a warning out of concern whereas his was a warning as a threat.

"Now I have some unfinished business with this little bitch so you're going to drop your wallet on the ground and stand there perfectly still while I take care of it." He hissed and Gaara glared murderously as he did what he said. The guy then glanced down at Naomi. "I was going to settle for just a kiss sweetie but now you're going to have to pay for your boyfriend's mistake of fighting us." He stated and bent down to breath in her ear. "And I'll be wanting plenty of payment." He breathed, kissing the side of her neck.

Naomi glared at him in disgust but the fear of the knife digging into her throat prevented her from moving (and kept her mouth shut for that matter). Gaara's glare got darker and he moved forward, having difficulty controlling his rage.

"I thought I told you not to move." He hissed and dug the knife into Naomi's neck, making it bleed. Naomi winced and whimpered in pain. _'Why the hell are there no people in this parking lot!' _She thought darkly. Gaara froze again and his glare got even darker.

"You, teach him a lesson." He stated nodding to his buddy with the broken nose. "Stand still and let him hurt you or you'll regret it." He told Gaara, grip tightening on Naomi.

"No, come on this has gone far enough. Please don't hurt him." Naomi pleaded.

"Don't think so."

The guy picked up the knife Gaara had taken from him and grinned at Gaara. "No!" Naomi exclaimed in fear.

Gaara glared at him with the darkest look he could but didn't say anything. He didn't even say anything when the knife came and stabbed him in the torso. He groaned but no words escaped and he stayed still.

"Gaara!" Naomi cried.

Naomi glared murderously at the guy holding her, eyes once again watering but this time in anger. She glanced again at Gaara as the other guy attacked him (though thankfully using his fist and no longer the knife). Naomi then looked back down at the knife keeping her pinned. This was all her fault. Gaara couldn't defend himself from that guy because of her. Her glare darkened and she took another deep breath, preparing once again to do something stupid.

In a quick motion one arm came up and her hand smacked into his holding the blade and the other grasped his arm and she bit into it as hard as she could. The knife flew out of his hand (cutting her as it did so but thankfully not deep) and he tried to rip her off of him as he yelled out in pain. Instead he ended up bringing both of them to the ground.

The sudden motion gave Gaara the opening he needed and he attacked the guy that was beating him. Naomi continued to bite onto the guy's arm and tried to ignore the pain as he repeatedly punched her in the face to try to free his arm. Finally when he realized that wasn't going to cut it he grabbed a fist full of her hair and ripped her off of his arm. Crying out in pain as she took a good chunk of him with her. He threw her to the ground and Naomi cried out in pain from the yank on her hair and from her head smashing onto the ground, right onto a rock. She grew dizzy and felt warm liquid leaking down the back of her head but ignored it as the guy was now on top of her with his hands around her throat. Naomi responded with claws. She couldn't get him to release his grip so she settled for scratching his face and clawing at any flesh she could reach to try and get him to stop strangling her.

As Naomi began to start seeing spots in her vision and breathing was not only impossible but painful she began to cry and fight more. Suddenly the guy was being ripped off her and air came rushing back into her lungs. She began to cough and chock as she tried to breathe again and rolled over onto her hands and knees; gasping for breath and trying to calm herself.

A hand being placed on her shoulder made her practically leap out of her skin and she spun to attack but stopped when Gaara's face came into view. "Gaara!" She exclaimed in relief. "Are you alright?" She asked urgently.

"I'm fine." He responded. "Are you alright?" He asked and she nodded slowly. She stared at the three now unconscious boys before turning back to Gaara.

"Thank you so much." She muttered and he nodded. Spotting the knife abandoned on the ground made her remember something. "Gaara you're hurt!" She exclaimed and knocked him onto his butt in her rush to inspect where he was stabbed.

"I'll live." He hissed as she lifted up his shirt and found the wound.

"It's bad Gaara. You're really hurt and not just there." She retorted and shakily went over to her bag and dug out her cell phone. "This is all my fault." She mumbled and quickly went back to Gaara.

With some difficulty she got him standing and supported him on her as she lead him over to a car and leaned him against it. "I'm going to call the cops. Just hang on." She explained and managed to dial 911 with shaky hands. They picked up and it came out in a rush. "Yes please I need help. Some guys tried to mug me and my friend stepped in, he's badly hurt. No they're unconscious. He protected me. We're in the parking out outside of the movie theater in the mall." She explained hurriedly while answering the questions. "Ok just hurry." She stated and hung up.

"They're on the way." She stated as sat back down beside him. She took her shoes off and then slipped off her stockings.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked confused.

"We need to stop the bleeding, take off your hoody and shirt." She ordered and he complied though confused.

Naomi folded up his shirt and pressed it against the wound, using her stocking to tie it and keep it there. It wasn't much but it was something to add pressure and stop the bleeding. With her other she wrapped it around his bleeding arm.

"It's something." She muttered.

"I'm fine." Gaara stated though clearly not.

"No you're not." Naomi retorted.

Gaara looked away and sighed leaning his head against the car. "You should take care of yourself not me, you're hurt." He retorted.

"I'll live." She responded.

"So will I." Gaara responded right back.

"They'll be here soon." Naomi muttered. "I'm sorry." She added.

"Don't be." He muttered back. "The others were concerned at what was taking so long so I went to find you. I fought them by choice." He explained.

"But-" She protested but Gaara cut her off by tossing his hoody at her.

"Put it on, you're covered in blood and shaking." He stated and she nodded slipping it on.

A few more minutes later and the parking lot was filled with commotion. The police and ambulances arrived and people were coming out of the theater to see what was going on. Naomi and Gaara were being loaded into the ambulance when their friends came flying through the crowd and forced their way over to them.

"What the hell happened!" Naruto yelled when he reached the scene and was blocked by a police officer.

"Stay where you are kid." The officer stated.

"Those are our friends! What happened!" He yelled.

"From what we can gather Naomi was attacked by those three older boys, they tried to rob her and Gaara intervened. She doesn't want to tell us too much until she's sure he's safe." The police officer explained.

"Safe? What's wrong with him?" Sasuke asked.

"They're both pretty beat up." The police officer explained.

"We're ready to go." The paramedic called to the cop and got into the ambulance.

Naomi and Gaara were rushed to the hospital (and the other three) with their friends hot on their tail. The girls had to ride with the boys though since Naomi still had Ino's wallet and car keys.

Not long afterwards Naomi was sitting outside of hospital room Gaara was in. She was already treated and they were working on Gaara. Naomi hugged her knees as she waited in the chair. Band aids were on her arms, knees, and face, her head was wrapped in gauze from the back of her head bleeding (she already got a cat scan and no brain trauma), and gauze was around her neck from the knife. She was also covered with minor scrapes and bruises, she had a black eye, and her face was swollen and bruising. Thanks to painkillers and her worry of Gaara she wasn't actually feeling much pain at the moment though.

She pulled Gaara's hoody tighter around her as she waited and a police officer came back with a cup of water for her. "Your parents are on their way now." He told her as he handed the water to her. "When they get here you can explain everything ok?"

"Alright." She muttered.

Commotion in the hallway got their attention and they looked up to see Naomi's sister bursting through the doors and rushing over to them, closely followed by Itachi. Both of which looked like they had just came from a date. "Naomi! What happened!" Megumi exclaimed when she rushed to her.

"Long story." Naomi muttered, smiling weakly.

"Are you alright? Sasuke and the others are in the waiting room freaking out." Itachi asked.

"I'm alright... Gaara's going to be ok too..." She answered.

"I'll go calm the fools down then." Itachi responded and quickly left to go to them.

"Are you her mother?" The police officer asked.

"No I'm her older sister." She answered and turned to Naomi "Mom and dad are on the way. I just came as soon as dad told me. Itachi and I were at dinner on the other side of the city. I came speeding down here like a bat out of hell as soon as I heard." She told Naomi.

Naomi opened her mouth to speak but more commotion revealed her parents bursting into the ward as well and coming over.

"Naomi! Sweetie are you all right?" Her dad exclaimed and raced to her. "You're covered in blood." He stated, Naomi was still wearing her blood stained outfit (and of course Gaara's hoody), she didn't want to have to wear the annoying hospital gown for a head injury and was more concerned with Gaara then herself.

"I'm fine dad." She muttered.

"What happened? I told you not to go out tonight!" Her mother exclaimed.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" The police officer asked.

"Yeah. We, the girls and I we went to the movies and met up with some of our friends. My friend Ino left her wallet in the car so I went back to go get it for her." Before Naomi could finish there was more commotion in the ward and Temari and Kankuro came flying down the hallway to them.

"Where is he! Where's my baby brother!" Temari demanded when bursting in.

"Where is he and who's the bastard that put him here!" Kankuro roared.

Naomi almost wanted to laugh at the giant scene they were causing but flagged them down. "Naomi! Oh my God are you alright?" Temari exclaimed when she saw her and rushed over to her.

"What happened?" Kankuro asked.

"Who are you?" The police officer asked.

"Gaara's older siblings. We were told something happened." Temari responded.

"Gaara? That boy in there?" Naomi's dad asked.

"How's he involved?" Her mother asked.

"Gaara saved me." Naomi answered.

Naomi repeated the brief part she got to tell to Temari and Kankuro and then explained to them all what happened. "The minute those bastards are out of the hospital their asses are going to be in jail! I'll hire the best lawyer in the city if I have to." Her dad exclaimed.

"Calm down sir, they will be charged for their actions don't worry." The police officer stated.

"Those injuries you got in order to help Gaara? Thank you Naomi." Temari muttered and hugged her as gently as she could so she didn't hurt her.

"Don't thank me, Gaara got hurt because of me in the first place." She muttered.

Naomi's father stood up and looked at the two. "Your brother saved my daughter from being... from those boys and saved her life. Thank you." He stated and shook Kankuro's hand.

"Uh. Your welcome but Gaara should be the one you're thanking, not us." Kankuro answered awkwardly.

"I intend to. Please, I'm in your family's debt. Let me make it up to you, I'll.." He paused to think of a repayment of some kind. "I'll take care of getting a lawyer for your brother as well." He offered.

"Honey!" Naomi's mother exclaimed.

"That's kind but not necessary. Lawyers aren't cheap. We've got the money to cover for it so you don't have to..." Temari stated.

"Then let me make it up to you in some way. I know! When Gaara is well I will take you all out to dinner. My treat and we'll spare no expense. It's the least I can do for him." He decided.

Temari and Kankuro were going to protest more but gave in. However Naomi's mother still looked like she had an issue with his willingness to spend so much on him. She opened her mouth to protest but Megumi stopped her.

"Let him mom." She stated.

Before they could really talk much more the door to Gaara's room opened and the doctors stepped out. "Is he ok!" Naomi, Temari, Kankuro, and Naomi's father (surprisingly) all exclaimed at once.

"He's fine. He's all stitched up and treated. He's resting now but he'll be just fine. Sore for awhile but fine." The doctor stated with a smile.

"Thank God." Temari muttered and the others nodded.

"Naomi do you need to stay in the hospital?" Megumi asked.

"No, nothing's seriously wrong. I'm fine." She answered.

"Then let's go home, we can visit Gaara first thing in the morning." Her dad stated as he and her mom filled out all the paperwork (Temari and Kankuro were doing the same for Gaara).

"No I want to stay." Naomi responded quickly. "I won't be any trouble I just want to stay and make sure he's ok." She added.

"Naomi, it's late and the doctors said he'll be fine. You can see him tomorrow." Her mother stated.

"It's cool mom, I'll stay here with her." Megumi offered.

"Megumi." Her mother started in annoyance.

"Let her, she's been through a lot tonight and it'll make her feel better." Megumi argued.

"Fine. Just don't get into any trouble." She ordered.

"I won't." Naomi muttered in annoyance.

"Since you're staying watch over Gaara for me alright?" Temari stated and Naomi nodded.

"No problem." She muttered.

Not much later Naomi was sitting down in one of the chairs in Gaara's room. Her parents and Gaara's sibs had left, and Megumi went to go talk to their friends and Itachi and explain to them what was going on (and give Ino her stuff). Naomi sat in her chair with her legs pulled up under her. She stared at Gaara's sleeping figure. His torso and arm were wrapped up and stitched shut, his knuckles were bandaged, he had two black eyes, a busted lip, bruises on his face and chest, a huge bruise on his shoulder, random scrapes and cuts, and a bandage on his cheek. "It's all my fault." She muttered quietly, she wished she just gave those guys her purse then this all could have been avoided.

Megumi came back and sat down beside Naomi. She put her arm around her comfortingly and Naomi leaned against her. "Guess I ruined your date. I'm sorry." She muttered.

"Don't worry about it. We can always go on more. Heh, Itachi might not have shown it but he was worried about you guys too." She stated. "Don't worry he's got ties with the police department too so he'll help to make sure those guys get what they deserve." She added. Naomi smiled a little and got comfortable before dozing off.

Gaara blinked his eyes open slowly. His whole body ached and he felt too stiff to really move. He stared up at the hospital ceiling before looking over at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. He sighed, it had been a long time since he got seriously beat up in a fight. He supposed if he hadn't let Naomi get dragged into the fight then his injuries could have been avoided. He heard a sniffle from the other side of the room and turned his head to look the other way. He was surprised to find Naomi and her sister sleeping in the two chairs in his room. Naomi was curled up in a ball in the chair and using his hoody as a blanket while she leaned against her sister. It was too dark to tell how badly she was hurt but he could see the outline of some bandages on her. _'She stayed for me?' _He thought in confusion. He stared back up at the ceiling and let himself think about all that happened until he fell asleep again.

Naomi woke up early the next morning. It was only seven. She tried to sit up and groaned. Her whole body ached even more, sleeping in a chair really didn't do much for you when you were already hurt. She tried to crack a few stiff joints but quickly thought better of it as it shot pain through her body.

"Finally up?" Megumi asked and moved Naomi off her so she could get up and stretch. "Mom's on her way to bring you some clean clothes so I'll go meet her in the waiting room. I'll raid a vending machine for our breakfast too while I'm at it." She spoke.

"Alright." Naomi yawned.

Megumi left the room and Naomi got up to stretch slowly. She tried to rub the sleep from her eyes but winched as one of her eyes was sore and swollen. "Damn it all to hell." She growled.

"Morning to you too." Gaara grunted.

"Gaara you're awake!" Naomi exclaimed and went over to his bed. "How are you feeling?" She asked concerned.

"About as good as you look." He muttered and Naomi glared slightly.

"Well I see your attitude is still the same." She laughed. "I'm glad you're alright. I was really worried." She added.

"Told you I'd be fine." He responded.

"I know. Still, I'm really sorry for putting you through all this." She muttered.

"I told you, don't be sorry." He responded.

"I can't help it. You got beat up because of me, you got stabbed because of me! It's my fault you're in the hospital!" She exclaimed and cursed herself as her eyes watered.

"It's not like I'm dying Naomi." Gaara stated.

"I know but I feel so guilty, you had to just stand there and let him stab you because of me..."

"I promised I'd protect you didn't I?" he responded.

Naomi blinked in surprise and her memory went back to last Monday when she asked if he'd protect her if she ever needed it and he said he would. "I didn't mean for you to be reckless like that. You could have avoided it if we left and let them keep the bag."

"I couldn't just walk away." He retorted.

"Why not? I know you enjoy fighting but why couldn't you? There were three of them."

"They stole from you, hurt you, and tried to... I couldn't let them get away with that. You're my friend." He responded, anger again rising in him as he thought about what they did. He wanted to murder them for hurting her.

"If I had just given them my bag in the first place I could have avoided all of this." She muttered.

"You don't know that, you don't know if they would have left you alone after giving it to them." Gaara answered. "You were brave for trying to fight and escape. Though you're being a little weak now." He added.

"I'm sorry Gaara." Naomi apologized again and Gaara rolled his eyes, she was set on feeling guilty.

Gaara stared at her for a few minutes taking in more of her appearance. She really did look as bad as he felt. Her face was bruised and swollen, she had a black eye, she had cuts on her face, there was dirt and dried blood all in her tangled hair, a bandage was wrapped around her head and neck, she had band aids on her legs and lots of bruises. Gaara smirked lightly.

"What?" Naomi asked curiously, confused as to why he was smirking.

"You look like shit." He smirked, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Well you're not exactly looking your best either handsome." She retorted and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Heh yet you still think I'm handsome?" He responded.

"That was sarcasm dumbass!" She retorted, blushing.

"I know beautiful." He responded, throwing in the sarcastic beautiful comment to mock her.

"You're mean." She retorted.

"Maybe but got you to stop being sad." He responded. Naomi glared playfully at him and Gaara turned to stare up at the ceiling. "I should be the one that's sorry. I tried to protect you but I got too carried away in fighting those guys that I let you get dragged in and hurt." He muttered.

"Don't worry about me Gaara." She responded.

"Then you're not allowed to worry about me either." He replied.

"Whatever." She responded but grinned nonetheless. "Still... Thank you so much Gaara..." She muttered.

Gaara rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond but his mouth clamped shut and he froze as she leaned in and pecked his cheek. Gaara's eyes widened and he laid there in shock from the sudden kiss. His cheeks suddenly felt like they were burning and blood began to flood to his face as his heartbeat quickened.

Naomi giggled lightly as she watched Gaara's face flare red, her own face was a little pink herself from her bold action but Gaara's face was rapidly turning to the same shade of his hair. She giggled more and he tried to glare but it wasn't very threatening with a bright red face.

"See now you're not quite as pure as Naruto anymore." She laughed and Gaara shook his head; making the color leave his face and acting as if nothing happened.

"Whatever." He muttered and she grinned.

"Hey you're awake." Megumi stated as she stepped back into the room and saw Gaara up and talking with Naomi. "How you feeling?" She asked and tossed him a candy bar. "Figured this would be better than that stuff the hospital tries to pass off as food." She added and passed one and a bag of clothes to Naomi. "Mom just dropped them off." She finished.

"Right, I'll go change then." Naomi responded and set the candy bar down in her chair before wandering into the little connected bathroom.

Megumi looked over at Gaara when she was gone. "Thanks a lot kid." She grinned and he nodded. "You seem a little out of it. Too much painkillers?" She asked; noting his kind of distant look and lack of response. Gaara was still thinking about the fact that Naomi kissed his cheek and so was really out of it.

"Fine." He muttered and shook his head again while opening the wrapper.

"So.." She stated; plopping down in a seat.

"So?"

"What made you try to fight those guys?" She asked curiously.

"What do you mean try? I kicked their asses didn't I?" He responded.

"True. Still why?" She asked.

Gaara shrugged before answering. "I was furious at them for hurting Naomi so I went after them." He answered.

"Hmm." She responded as she looked him over.

"What?" He demanded, curious as to why she was studying him.

"Oh nothing." She grinned and laughed.

Gaara shook his head and they sat in silence until Naomi came back out of the bathroom. "Leave it to her to bring me a pair of shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt when I look like this." She muttered when she came back out. She had been hoping for some pants and a shirt that could cover most of her bruises. Instead her mom brought her clothes that revealed most of them. She managed to carefully clean all the dirt and dried blood off that wasn't cleaned the night before and with the help of a comb and lots of water she got most of the dirt and blood out of her hair and combed it out. She looked presentable at the least (aside from the bruises, cuts, and bandages anyway).

"You can keep wearing my hoody." Gaara offered.

"Nah it's covered in dirt and blood and I just got myself clean. I'll take it home and wash it for you though." She laughed and stuck the hoody in a bag with the rest of her soiled clothes.

"Well you'll have a nice story to tell about your battle scars when you go to school on Monday." Megumi laughed and got up.

"Oh yeah.. School, that's going to be interesting." Naomi muttered.

"Well I'll leave you guys be now then. It's almost visiting hours so I'm sure your friends will be here the minute they're allowed." Megumi stated and grabbed Naomi's bag. "I'll start washing these for you then. See you later." She waved and left.

Until their friends arrived Naomi and Gaara passed the time silently. Gaara (with the help of all those lovely painkillers) fell back asleep and Naomi made a makeshift bed out of the two chairs in the room and snoozed there for awhile too.

The door bursting open was the sign that their friends arrived. "Gaara! Naomi!" Naruto exclaimed when he burst into the room and made them jump awake in surprise.

"Hey Naruto." Gaara growled tiredly and Naomi laughed while sitting up.

Naruto was followed by Hinata, Sasuke, Lee, Sai, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten, all who were there last night, even Neji tagged along. Kankuro and Temari were right behind them as well. "How are you guys feeling?" Sakura asked as they all crowded into the small room.

"Been better." They both muttered.

"Jesus Naomi." Neji muttered as he inspected her injuries and gently placed a hand on her face as he looked over the damage.

"It's not that bad." She muttered, a little embarrassed by him placing his hand on her face and looking down at the ground.

Naruto and Sasuke both noted the dark glare Gaara was now sending Neji. They glanced at each other curiously before watching the scene before them.

"Hinata mentioned you wanted me to teach you some kung fu moves, now I got a good reason to teach you how to defend yourself." Neji muttered.

"That'd be helpful. If it wasn't for Gaara I'd be way worse off then I am now." She responded.

"Saved the day huh Gaara?" Lee asked grinning.

"Yup, he saved me from getting hurt." Naomi answered.

"Clearly." Neji muttered sarcastically and Gaara glared even more.

"I would have been... It could have been really bad if Gaara wasn't there." Naomi defended, frowning.

"So how long are you going to be in here?" Naruto asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Not that long." Gaara muttered.

"He lost a good deal of blood from those wounds but they weren't too serious or life threatening. No vitals hit or anything." Sakura added, looking over his chart and going over all the stuff on it.

"You understand all that?" Tenten asked as she glanced at the records.

"Yeah I'm going to be a doctor after all." Sakura replied.

"Awesome. Sorry about ruining your birthday night Ino." Naomi apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you guys are ok. Besides this was more eventful and dramatic then the movie we were going to see." Ino replied and laughed, trying to lighten things up.

By mid afternoon almost everyone had left to let Gaara rest. It was now just Naomi, Naruto, and Kankuro. Temari wanted to stay but she still needed to do all that college work so left Kankuro in charge of staying. Naomi got a call from her mom and was finally ordered to go home and rest. Her sister was now here to pick her up and so she said her goodbyes and gathered her stuff together.

"See you guys at school. Heh we're going to have fun Monday, Gaara." Naomi laughed and Gaara rolled his eyes. "Thanks again Gaara and I'll have your jacket clean and blood free on Monday." She added as she shut the door behind her.

"She has your jacket?" Kankuro asked confused.

"I let her borrow it last night and she's determined to clean it for me." Gaara answered.

"So..." Naruto and Kankuro both stated, appearing on either side of his bed and grinning down at him.

"What?" Gaara demanded.

"What's the deal?" The both asked.

"What deal?"

"You getting the shit beat out of you for a girl." They stated.

"She's my friend?" Gaara responded though even to him it sounded more like a question then an answer.

"Taking a knife for a _just_ a friend is pretty generous." Kankuro stated.

"So? Naruto you've risked your life for _Sasuke_ before. What does that make you?" Gaara retorted.

"Well he's my friend." Naruto answered.

"Exactly." Gaara responded.

"Still that's like Naruto. This isn't like you." Kankuro answered.

"Whatever."

"You can admit it Gaara. We know you like her." They both stated.

"Do not." Gaara replied stubbornly.

"Mhm sure." They responded.

"I don't." Gaara hissed.

"Yeah, ok." Naruto and Kankuro laughed.

"Whatever." Gaara grumbled and didn't acknowledge them with even looking at them after that.

Gaara scowled at the wall, they were just idiots reading too much into it. Yeah that was it. He didn't like her at all. Never mind the fact that he'd never been so angry at someone before then with those bastards just for hurting her, ignore the fact that he took a knife for her, felt guilty about letting her get hurt, and of course the fact that he blushed bright red and his heart started pounding when she kissed his cheek met nothing at all either. Nope no feelings for her at all.

Naomi sighed as she got to her house. She wasn't really looking forward to go inside. She knew now that there were no people, police, or doctors around she was really going to hear it from her mother. Her father too probably but she knew she was going to get bitched at for hours on end by her mother. She was seriously not looking forward to that. She wasn't in the mood to have that headache added onto all her other pains right now. She'd have to deal with that headache and then the headache sure to come on Monday.


	5. Admitting Feelings

Here be chapter 5 to Behind Blue Eyes! Sorry it took me so long to finally get this thing updated but I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only my made up charaters and ideas.

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Naomi woke up Monday morning and groaned she still really ached and wasn't looking forward to going to school. She shut her alarm and sat up in bed for a few minutes trying to wake her brain up. One of her dogs started to nudge her and that was her cue to get up and let them out to go to the bathroom. Naomi shuffled out of bed and wandered downstairs with her dogs, letting them out into the backyard to go to the bathroom.

"How you feeling?" Her sister asked from the kitchen.

"Still pretty sore." She replied tiredly.

"After your shower I can put some make-up on you to try and cover them up a little." She offered.

"Don't worry about it. Covering up the purple bruises won't cover up the swelling." She answered shaking her head no.

"If you're sure, I just figured you didn't want to draw a lot of attention to yourself."

"Eh it'll happen regardless." She replied with a shrug and let her dogs back in. "I'm going to go hop in the shower." She replied.

After taking a shower and getting ready for school Naomi headed back downstairs to grab some breakfast, her parents were now up and getting ready for work as well. "Morning." She muttered when she reentered the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" Her father asked and she shrugged.

She got her breakfast without really talking to her mother. They had gotten into a big argument after she returned from the hospital. As she had expected her mother had a mouthful of scolding for her and she put up with it for a short while but got tired of it and got nasty back so now they weren't on speaking terms at the moment. She liked it better that way though, this way they didn't fight.

While Naomi ate her cereal she got a text from Hinata. She paused in her eating and pulled out her cellphone flipping it open to read the text.

_Neji and I are going to pick you up before school so you don't have to drive by yourself. We'll be there soon._

She blinked at the text and the wrote back an ok and a thanks. Surprised they were giving her a ride to school but glad for it. She really wasn't up to being alone right now.

A short while later they were there and Naomi headed to Neji's car. "Thanks for the ride." She stated as she crawled into the back.

"No problem." Neji responded and Hinata nodded.

"You look better." Hinata stated.

The swelling on Naomi's eye had gone down but it was still puffy and black. Most of the small cuts were healing nicely as well. Thanks to her uniform and stockings most of her injuries were covered. The scraps on her kneecaps were hidden, the bandage around her neck was covered by her collar (only the tips of the bruises around her neck were visible in a few spots), she didn't have to wear a bandage around her head anymore, and so the only visible injuries were her black eye, the bruises on her face, scrape on her cheek, and the scrapes on her palms.

"Thanks." Naomi replied and wondered how Gaara was looking.

They got to school and headed to the steps where their friends were gathered. Naomi looked at Gaara when they got there, he still looked like hell but he was healing up nicely too. "How are you feeling Gaara?" She asked when she reached him.

Gaara looked away from Naruto when he heard Naomi's voice and looked over at her. She still looked like she was in a lot of pain but she was healing. He shrugged in response to her question not one to voice his complaints of how he felt.

"You shouldn't be in school just yet. They only released you last night and Temari said the doctors ordered you to rest and take it easy for awhile." She scolded.

"I'm fine." Gaara retorted.

"You don't want to reopen those stitches." She pressed.

"I'm not going to push myself." He stated rolling his eyes.

"You better not." She threatened.

"Yes mother." He retorted rolling his eyes again.

"So Naomi, why aren't you trying to cover those bruises up? Want me to do it for you?" Ino asked curiously.

"No, my sis offered this morning too. Don't worry about it I don't care about trying to cover this crap up." She stated.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Well first no make up is going to cover up the swelling and second I figured Gaara wasn't going to put make-up all over himself either so I'll match him. We'll look like shit together." She grinned.

"Ok then." Ino stated shaking her head.

Soon the bell rang and everyone started heading to class. Naomi walked to class with Naruto and Hinata. She was already getting plenty of stares as they walked through the halls and she sighed as they entered the classroom.

"Holy hell Naomi, what happened to you?" Kakashi stated as they entered the classroom. Students looked up and stared at her.

"Nothing really, I just ran into some trouble this weekend." She stated.

"I can see that."

"It's all good Kakashi-sensei." She stated and took her seat.

Gaara entered his classroom with Sasuke, he had a similar conversation with his teacher before taking his seat. "So why did you bother to come to school today?" Sasuke asked curiously as they sat.

"I'm not injured enough to need to stay in bed all day." He replied.

"Right, that's why you keep winching every time you move." Sasuke retorted.

"Does it matter? Did you not want me to be here?"

"No I just figured you'd take this as an advantage to ditch school."

"...I didn't want Naomi to deal with all the attention by herself." Gaara admitted quietly.

"Oh?"

"Well I figured it would look bad for her if she showed up to school looking like she got beat and I didn't know if she'd be up to telling the whole school what happened to her."

"So if you both show up looking like hell then they can rule out thinking she was being abused by like her family or a boyfriend or something?"

"Yeah this way they can either figure out the truth or at least think of a story that doesn't look that bad for just her."

"Heh pretty sweet of you considering your such an anti-social don't-help-anyone-but-myself kind of person."

"And I'm not about to look weak. When the truth does get out, which it will considering Naruto's big mouth, then it won't look like I got so hurt that I couldn't get out of bed. I took on three thugs and am still walking around fine with minimal damage. Helps the rep." Gaara stated.

"Right so you help build your rep as a tough psycho and also let everyone know you have a soft side by saving a girl." He teased and Gaara glared at him.

"Shut up Uchiha." He growled.

"Well I can guarantee besides talk of what happened going around some other talk will be going around too."

"What kind of talk?" Gaara asked hesitantly.

"Obviously talk about the stoic, anti-social, creepy Gaara's new crush." He stated with a slight smirk.

"Excuse me?" Gaara growled and cursed himself as his cheeks flushed pink for a split second.

"Figure it out genius." He stated and turned to the board as the class began.

"I don't like her." Gaara hissed at him while facing the board as well.

"I'm sure you don't." Sasuke muttered sarcastically.

Naomi arrived to English with Gaara, they both sighed as they got ready to enter the classroom. "I have a feeling this is going to get old really fast." Naomi stated and he nodded.

They entered the classroom and everyone stared. "Jesus what happened to you two?" Jiraiya asked when they walked in.

Naomi thought for a minute before answering. "Oh you know, lover's spat." She stated slinging her arm over Gaara's shoulder and Gaara stared at her confused.

"Haha well I'd say I need to have a stern talking with Gaara and how he treats his women but it looks like you're the one wearing the pants in the relationship and are handling him just fine." He laughed and Naomi grinned while Gaara scowled.

"Naomi got into a little trouble over the weekend and I helped her out of it." Gaara muttered in irritation.

"Oh. And did you win?" Jiraiya responded curiously.

"Naturally."

"Heh well if you won and look like that, I'd hate to see what happened to the other guy."

"They're in the hospital." Naomi stated proudly.

"They? Just what kind of trouble did you get into Naomi?"

"Three older guys tried to mug me." She admitted and the classroom gasped in surprise or raised their eyebrows in surprise. Naomi figured she might as well speak the truth now and keep rumors from spreading.

"Well in that case, good job Gaara. Great for protecting your girl and bonus points for hospitalizing three bastards with minimal damage to yourself." He congratulated.

"She's not my girl." Gaara growled.

"We're just friends." Naomi defended just as fiercely.

"Right of course, go take your seats now." He stated laughing and not buying it for a minute.

"Stupid old pervert." Naomi grumbled as she took her seat.

"Well it does look that way." Shikamaru stated snickering from his seat.

"Shut up." Gaara growled.

"Oh Gaara, think you could do me a favor?" Naomi asked midway through class.

"Hn?" He responded, signaling he was listening.

"Neji and Hinata gave me a ride to school today, think you could give me a ride home?" She asked.

"Sure." Gaara responded after a moment.

"Thanks."

"You'll have to wait till after band practice though."

"That's fine, I'll just watch you guys practice." She responded grinning, she'd been wanting to sit in on their practices for awhile now.

When the bell rang they headed to chemistry and Orochimaru only raised an eyebrow at their appearances, didn't ask any questions. Naomi told Neji Gaara was giving her a ride home and he volunteered to give her a ride to school again tomorrow. She was glad her friends were helping her out so much, she really wasn't up to being alone now, she was pretty jumpy as it is and she was glad she didn't even have to voice this. They automatically knew.

The rest of the day passed pretty uneventfully for Naomi. She had to constantly deal with people asking what happened but that was about it. By the time her art class rolled around she was really looking forward to the end of the day.

"Man, I'm glad you already finished drawing me." Naomi laughed as she got to work on drawing Neji's portrait.

"I wouldn't have included those injuries." Neji responded shaking his head.

"True, but still, can't modal for a portrait looking like this." She laughed.

"Hey, I'm not including Gaara's injuries." Naruto stated as he drew him.

Naomi paused from her work to look over at Naruto's drawing and stared at it for a long moment. It wasn't bad per-say but it wasn't all that good either. Naomi looked up at Gaara and grinned. "Looks just like you, very handsome." She laughed and Gaara scowled as he too looked over at it.

"Stick to your drums Naru." Naomi laughed; patting him on the head and turning back to her work.

After school she wandered into the band room with Hinata and propped herself up against the wall. The two girls watched them play for awhile then did their homework and then Naomi started to doodle in her sketch book.

"What are you drawing?" Hinata asked as she looked over her shoulder.

Naomi showed her her sketch of the guys playing at the concert they were practicing for and grinned. "I got bored." She laughed and turned back to drawing their clothes. "I just can't decide on what I want to make them wear." She stated.

Hinata made a couple of suggestions and then the girls smiled as a thought occurred to them. "Hey guys." Naomi called getting their attention.

"What?" They asked curiously as they stopped playing.

"You should let us design your outfits for the gig." Naomi stated eagerly.

"Why?" Naruto asked confused.

"Cuz we're girls and we know fashion." Naomi stated logically.

"Do you guys know what you want to wear already?" Hinata asked shyly.

"No." They answered confused as to why fashion mattered so much.

"Then leave your style to us." Naomi grinned.

"Ookk then." They stated.

"Why don't we call it a day." Sasuke suggested as they checked the time, it was almost 4:30.

They all packed up their stuff and started heading to the parking lot. As they did they noticed it started to storm. "Damn." Naomi muttered looking out the window. "Good thing we have jackets." She muttered before glancing at Hinata. "Expect for you miss fashionable." She added.

"Oh I'll be ok." She muttered but a jacket was placed on her shoulders. Hinata blinked in confusion and looked up to see who gave it to her, she blushed as Naruto grinned at her. "Y-you didn't have to Naruto-kun..." She mumbled as she slipped it on.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be alright." He replied.

"Are you riding your bike in this weather?" Naomi asked concerned.

"Nah I rode with Sasuke this morning, bike's in the shop." Naruto answered.

They walked out of the building and headed to their cars. "Just bring me my jacket tomorrow 'kay Hinata?" Naruto stated as he reached Sasuke's car.

"Alright." Hinata answered smiling shyly and looking very content to be wearing his jacket.

"See ya guys tomorrow." Naomi waved as she got into the car with Gaara.

"Later." They all waved.

"Heh those two would be so cute together." Naomi stated as Naruto waved goodbye to the blushing Hinata.

"Hinata's been Naruto's stalker since they were little kids apparently." Gaara responded as they left.

"And how Naruto remains oblivious to her feelings I'll never know." Naomi replied.

"Well he's not exactly the smartest person around."

"Heh no kidding."

"He likes her too."

"And they still don't realize how the other feels?"

"Nope."

"Damn clueless idiots." Naomi stated shaking her head and grinned at Gaara, he gave a tiny smirk in return before facing the road and she looked out the window as they drove.

Naomi directed Gaara to her house and once they pulled up into the drive way she paused. "Wanna come in for a bit? You never came over the other times the gang's been over. You can meet my dogs." She asked.

"...Sure." He decided and turned the car off.

They quickly went into the house out of the rain and shook the water out of their hair. "You're back late Naomi." Her sister called from the living room.

"I stayed after school with Gaara and some of the others." She stated pointing to him.

"Hey kid, I'll let mom and dad know he's staying for dinner then." She stated glancing at him and then turning back to the TV.

"Well guess you're staying for dinner." Naomi stated and grinned as Gaara grumbled about being called a kid. "Come on, I'll show you around." She added and grabbed his hand dragging him around the house. "Not quite as big or fancy as your manor but not too bad." She stated as she showed him around downstairs and then let her dogs in from out back.

"Big dogs." Gaara muttered as the three giant dogs jumped on him.

"Down." Naomi ordered, afraid they might hurt him since he was still injured. "Something Kiba and I have in common, love for big dogs." She laughed as she shooed them away from him. Naomi led him upstairs, pointed out the rooms, and then lead him into her room. "And this is my lair." She stated letting him in and the dogs slipped in with them.

Gaara looked around the room. It was pretty messy; clothes, junk, and books all over the floor. There were posters and decorations all over the walls. In one corner she had a bookshelf, a desk with a laptop in another, her dresser was near her closet and mirror, and in the far corner was her queen sized bed with a fairy bed set. The entire room had a fairy theme though the theme was more of a Gothic and mystical fairy kind of theme.

"It's nice." Gaara stated, unsure of what else to say.

"Sorry about the mess." Naomi stated and then blushed as she spotted one of her bras on the floor in plain sight. She quickly snatched it up and stuffed it into her hamper blushing.

"Nice." Gaara stated, resisting a smirk. "Didn't take you for a lace kind of girl." He added, unable to resist.

"Shut up!" Naomi snapped; blushing darker.

"So what are your dogs' names?" He asked, changing the subject (that and the dogs kept sniffing him and licking his hands).

"Takeo is the Saint Barnard, Takeru the German Shepherd, and Ai is the Akita." Naomi stated, pointing them all out to him. "They're all really sweet though their fucken bedhogs." She stated scratching Takeru behind the ear. "Make yourself comfortable." She added.

Gaara looked around for a minute then sat down on the edge of her bed, the dogs following and jumping up beside him. He stared at the Saint Barnard; drooling and slobbering right in his face. "I'm not much of a dog person." He told him, pushing him out of his face. "Especially ones that drool and slobber." He added.

Naomi laughed and shook her head. She took off her jacket and hung it on the back of her chair, taking off her tie and tossing it on the desk. "Gimme your jacket." She stated, sticking her hand out for it while struggling to pull off her socks with her other one.

Gaara handed her his jacket and she hung it on the chair with hers. He watched Naomi struggle out of her socks then fuss around her room, picking up things here and there and tossing clothes in the hamper. "I don't clean much." Naomi stated while she picked things up.

"I can see that." Gaara stated, taking his tie off and stuffing it in the pocket of his jacket while watching her.

"Well when everything's put away it becomes a pain in the ass to find what you're looking for. I much rather have it out and exactly where I can find it when I need it." She stated; crawling under her desk to pick up socks and a few pairs of underwear she had stuffed down there.

"Hn." Gaara responded, not really paying attention to what she was saying, she was on all fours as she cleaned out under her desk so his attention was being drawn elsewhere. It was drawn to her backside, her short skirt, and her legs. He tilted his head to the side a little to get a better view and a dog grunted right in his ear. Gaara blinked and looked away from Naomi to stare at the dog that was now glaring at him, yes even he could tell it was glaring darkly at him. It grunted again and Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow at it. "What?" He demanded.

"Say something?" Naomi asked confused and getting up off the ground after picking up all the clothes.

"What's with your dog?" Gaara asked as it stared him down.

"You did something to make her mad." Naomi stated patting Ai on the head. "She's really protective and stuff. What you do?"

"Nothing, I was just sitting here." He lied.

"Ai, he's nice...kind of." Naomi laughed and Gaara glared. "At any rate, you don't need to protect me from him." She added and sat down beside him. "They're my loyal protectors." She laughed as Ai laid down in her lap while eying Gaara.

"Pretty clever too." Gaara muttered.

"So since we've decided you're staying for dinner, what do you want to do?" Naomi asked after sitting in silence for awhile and Gaara shrugged; texting Temari and letting her know he would be back late. "How's your wound?" She asked concerned and Gaara shrugged again.

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

"I am not."

"I've seen you winch all day." She stated and pushed him over onto his back.

"What are you doing?" Gaara demanded confused.

"I want to make sure you're alright. Just lay there for a minute." She ordered and left.

Naomi went into the bathroom and grabbed some ointment, a wet rag, bandages, and some gauze. She returned to the room and Gaara eyed her. "You know the hospital already treated everything."

"Yeah well better safe then sorry." Naomi stated and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Now hold still." She ordered and put more ointment on the cuts he had on his face.

"I don't need you to-

Gaara tried to argue, trying to sit up but she pushed him back down. "Deal with it." She stated and started rolling up his sleeve and then unbuttoned his shirt so she had access to all the injuries. "Besides you need to change the dressing regularly remember." She added.

"Temari told you everything the doctors said didn't she?"

"Yep."

"You seriously don't have to do this." Gaara tried again.

"I seriously am going to anyway." She retorted.

"Fine be my nurse then." He stated, defeated.

"I am, this is my fault." She responded, carefully taking care of his arm before she got to the wound on his stomach.

Gaara just rolled his eyes and let her do what she wanted. When she was done she had a hand on his chest while dabbing his busted lip with the rag with her other hand. He stared at the hand on his chest and then up at her face. "What?" Naomi asked, feeling a little self conscious under his stare.

"Are you going to make a habit out of this?" He demanded, moving her hands away from him and sitting up slightly.

"Until you're better, yes." She responded stubbornly.

"I don't need a nurse maid." He stated.

"Well you got one." She stated and Gaara rolled his eyes.

"So are you going to wear a little nurse dress too?" He mocked and Naomi grinned cheekily.

"For _you_ maybe, but it'll have to be a pretty dress." She stated and poked him on the forehead. "But don't hold your breath." She added; grinning.

"So can I put my shirt back on yet?" He asked nodding down to his still unbuttoned shirt.

"I suppose." She responded, a little disappointed about him covering himself up again but she didn't show it.

Naomi made a move to get out of his way but as she did so the front door opened and the dogs lept up off the bed at the sound. They knocked into her and she fell over on top of him. She put her arms out to support herself, afraid she would hurt him if she landed on him and she ended up hovering over him on all fours, arms on either side of his head and legs on either side of his hips.

"Stupid dogs." She muttered glaring at them before she looked down at him and blushed at the position they were in.

Gaara stared up at her, her hair fell down around their heads like a veil and she hovered over him. He looked away from her face and down. A light blush tinted his cheeks as he could see down her shirt and into her cleavage. He forced his eyes away from there and looked back up into her face. She looked down shyly and gave a shy smile while tucking her hair behind her ear. The tiniest smile made its way onto his face in return.

"Dad's home kiddos so door's staying open!" Megumi stated swinging the door open then staring. "And just what do you think you two are up to?" She teased, leaning against the door frame.

"It's nothing! The dogs pushed me onto him." Naomi snapped her blush darkening.

"I'm sure, that explains the clothes too." She stated sarcastically. "Well whatever, but dad's home now so none of that." She stated turning away and walking out of the room.

Naomi glared after her sister and subconsciously lowered herself into a sitting position so she was straddling him now. "Dumb sister." She grumbled.

"She's not going to tell your dad what she thinks is going on is she?" Gaara questioned while trying to ignore the fact that she was straddling him.

"Nah she shouldn't." Naomi stated shaking her head. She then looked down at him and blushed a little. "Kind of reminds me of the time I took your phone." She stated laughing a little.

"I was on top of you that time." He corrected.

"True."

"Plus I wasn't the one with my shirt unbuttoned."

"Yeah you just had your pants undone." She laughed.

"Just what are you two talking about exactly?" Megumi stated, poking her head out from around the corner.

"Would you get out of here!" Naomi yelled at her, getting up off of Gaara and off of the bed. She slammed the door in her sister's face while blushing darkly.

"No doors closed while a boy's over!" Her dad yelled from downstairs.

"You let me shut the door when Naruto and Shikamaru are over!" She yelled back.

"He's different!" He shouted back.

"The hell does that mean!" She yelled back.

"It means Dad doesn't trust you two alone!" Megumi laughed from the other side of the door.

"You both are unbelievable!" Naomi shouted at them both.

"Open the door." Her dad ordered.

Naomi grumbled but opened the door again to see Megumi's grinning face. "Love me and I won't tell Dad about what I just saw and heard." She teased.

"Shut up and go away." Naomi ordered and Megumi laughed but walked off. Naomi turned away from the door to see Gaara was sitting up and had his shirt fixed. "Sorry about them." She stated shaking her head.

"They seem to enjoy messing with you."

"Yeah things are nice now. Mom's not home yet."

"Is dinner going to be awkward?"

"We'll have to see how the witch is feeling when she gets home." Naomi stated sitting back down beside him.

"Not getting along with her at the moment?"

"Nope. She decided to lecture me when I returned from the hospital. I didn't want to hear it so we're not on speaking terms at the moment." She answered shrugging. Gaara stared at her, not really sure what else to say. "Heh that actually makes my life a hell of a lot easier." She laughed bitterly.

They sat in silence for awhile and soon Naomi heard her dad call them down for dinner. She got up off the bed stretching and turned to Gaara. "Ready to face my family?" She asked with a grin and paused to find Gaara still staring at her. "What?" She asked curiously and cursed herself as her cheeks flushed a light pink under his stare.

"You're like Naruto." He stated standing up as well.

"Uhh what does that mean?" She responded confused.

"You hide everything behind smiles." He stated.

"Ah." She responded, her face falling slightly.

"Naruto puts on a brave front. He's always optimistic and energetic but you can tell in his eyes that he's lonely." Gaara continued while hinting he wasn't just referring to Naruto.

"Of course he is." She stated turning away and staring out her window. "He's an orphan, he's been alone all his life, he's never known his parents, the city's outcasted him." She continued. "He's... never really felt like he belonged." She added quietly; looking down.

"Neither have you."

"Yeah and neither have you." Naomi agreed glancing at him. "Still, Naruto looks on the bright side. He tries to stay positive as much as he can, he jokes, he plays. He doesn't want his crappy past to effect his present and future." She added.

"You're good at reading people."

"Maybe I'm speaking from experience." She muttered then turned to face him again. "Besides, Naruto's got friends now like you and I. He's got people who care and's not alone anymore so he's not quite as bad off as he could be." She stated with a slight smile then paused in thought for a moment.

"Though I guess that's one super good thing about Hinata's feelings for him. Its obvious that girl is in love with him and that's what he needs. He needs someone to show him love." She continued and started walking towards her door. "Same goes for you too Gaara." She added.

"I don't need anyone and I don't need love." He responded quickly.

"Everyone needs someone to love Gaara." She replied; turning back to face him again. "It makes us feel complete. Everyone needs to feel wanted and loved."

"I don't think so." Gaara responded and Naomi shrugged figuring it was not best to argue about it.

"If that's how you feel." She replied.

"And you're good at diverting a conversation away from you." Gaara continued.

"Yeah I guess I am." She replied smiling weakly.

"Why do you hide behind the smiles?"

"Well I could always be super negative, psycho, and anti-social like you." She joked while leaning against the door frame. "But I tried that once, didn't work out too well." She added.

"Quit dodging the question." Gaara demanded.

"Fine. I do because I don't like to look weak." She finally answered; glaring at her wall.

"Look weak?"

"I'm not as tough as you, I can't give off the fuck off vibe like you, I can't intimidate people like you." She began. "I went through the whole hate-the-world-doom-and-gloom phase. Like you I found out it didn't work to well and tried to change."

"I don't act like you or Naruto and I don't look weak."

"But you're tougher then me and you've had it rougher then me." She answered. "I know I've had it rough, I've been through hell but people have it worse then me. If I pretend nothing is wrong then people don't pity me, I don't worry my friends. I'm not going to waste my life feeling sorry for myself and if I'm not going to pity myself I sure as hell am not going to let others pity me if I can avoid it. I don't try to be optimistic like Naruto and I'm not going to be pessimistic like you. I'm realistic; life sucks for everyone: get over it." She vented.

I don't want to go back to how I used to be. I just want to move on and if that means I have to pretend none of this is real then fine." She added. "I take things in stride, I don't bitch about my problems and I bottle all the crap up inside." She finished.

"Bottling it all up will make you go crazy in the end, take it from a fellow crazy." Gaara stated as he watched her glare daggers into her wall.

"Well its all I know how to do. Either let my negative emotions take control and be like how you and I used to be or bottle them all up and only let the good ones show." She stated.

"Your rage, your anger, the hate, the hurt it all keeps bubbling inside you and you'll snap one day." Gaara replied; all too familiar with snapping and having mental breakdowns. Most of which led him to brutally attacking someone.

"I can't... I can't overcome all of them, I try to get over it but I just can't let it all go. You were able to you, I mean I know a lot of it is still there but you've been able to let things go and become more stable because you're not alone anymore you have friends that care. My issue isn't just the feelings of being alone. Its my supposed mother. I can't let anything go because she won't let anything go. I try, I try to get along with her, I try to let things go but she won't give me a chance. She takes all of her issues out on me and hurts me again and again. I have no choice but to bottle everything up because I don't want to be angry all the time." She stated and cursed while wiping her eyes of a few tears that managed to fall.

Gaara stared at her while she regained her composure. He had the strange compulsion to hold her while she was upset like this, to let her cry on his shoulder, and tell her it'll be alright. He fought and ignored the compulsion though and just stood there watching her. She did say she didn't want to be pitied...

"I don't pretend to know everything about you Gaara. There's more turmoil in those blue eyes of yours then in mine. We each have our own problems and we're dealing with them in our own ways. You're just probably dealing with your problems better then me..." She stated while staring at him.

"I've just already reached my breaking point. I lost it and thanks to the friends that I have now I was able to start overcoming it all. Though you're right, I've got a long way to go before I'm anywhere near normal." He admitted.

"Then when I reach my breaking point and snap, I better hope those same friends are there to help me through it too." She stated smiling weakly. "We came here to start over, to forget and move on. Try to be a normal family..."

"But you can never forget."

"No, and so we can never truly move on either can we? It just becomes this crazy mess of pretend. We all know we can't move on but we want to hope we can anyway so we pretend to forget. All this pretending creates an illusion of us starting over and we gladly stay in that illusion being happy, but then one of us will say something that will bring us crashing back down into reality and we remember its all just an act, a game of pretend. This game can't go on forever... One of us will snap and end the game... and it will probably be me..."

"Then maybe when you end the illusion you can try and make it a reality. The pretending shows a sign that all of you want to move on. You just need to reach the point where you're able to."

"Maybe. It's a nice thought but probably a distant dream." She muttered and rubbed her arm while in deep thought.

"You guys coming down or not!" Megumi called from downstairs.

"We're coming!" Naomi yelled back and turned to look at Gaara. "You gotta promise me something though." She began.

"What?" He asked confused.

"When I snap you gotta be there to help me pick up the pieces. Be there to pick me up when I fall." She stated giving another weak smile.

"I can do that." Gaara muttered coming over to her so they could head downstairs.

Naomi smiled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Not just for the promise but, for making me to talk about it too... I needed it." She stated as she hugged him.

Gaara stood stiff in her arms, not sure how to react to the sudden hug. "...No problem." He finally stated; patting her back awkwardly. He had no idea how to act in this situation.

Naomi smiled and let go of him. "Heh so this makes heart-to-heart-tear-jerking-emo-conversation number two right?" She laughed as she moved away from him.

"Yeah. Does that mean we've reached another level on your friendship scale?" He stated; recalling what she had said in their last conversation.

"Yep, you're an even closer friend of mine." She responded and then grinned. "And that now gives me the right to get your cellphone number so I can bug you whenever I feel like it." She stated and snatched his phone from his pocket.

"Hey." Gaara retorted as she took it from him. Naomi stuck her tongue out at him while putting her number into his phone and sending a text to her own phone to get his number. Then she handed it back to him.

"Now I'm starving, lets go eat." She stated heading out of the room and Gaara followed her downstairs.

"Finally what took you?" Megumi demanded when they entered the dining room.

"Sorry, we started talking and got distracted." Naomi answered.

"Your mom's working late so we're eating pizza." Her dad stated; nodding to the pizza boxes on the table.

"Sweet." Naomi responded grinning.

They sat down to eat and mostly ate in silence. Soon though random conversation broke out and Naomi's father directed his attention to Gaara. "I never had the chance to thank you for saving Naomi." He stated.

"It's fine." Gaara responded shrugging.

"Without you something horrible could have happened." He continued. He continued to try to thank Gaara and offer a way to make it up to him. It was soon decided that he would take Gaara and his family out for dinner Friday night with his family for a formal occasion.

When they had finished eating Naomi's father stood up and headed into the kitchen with the dirty dishes. "Don't keep him here too long Naomi, I'm sure both of you have homework that needs to be done." He stated as he went into the kitchen.

"Fine." Naomi stated and they stood up to leave.

"What do your parents do?" Gaara asked as they left the dining room.

"Mom's a secretary or an assistant or something for some big company and dad's a lawyer actually. He's got connections to get us some good lawyers for charging those three bastards."

"He's really going to charge them?"

"Yep."

"Why doesn't he be your lawyer then?"

"He can't, it has something to do with legal matters or he's the wrong type of lawyer or something like that. Point is he'll be able to get us good ones." She explained.

"I see." Gaara responded and they stopped in front of the stairs, standing there in silence for a moment. "I should go home." Gaara decided now that dinner was over. He did have some homework to do true enough but he was feeling really drained, he wanted to lay down and rest.

"Alright. Wait here and I'll go grab your jacket for you." She stated leaving him by the stairs. Naomi ran upstairs and got his stuff for him then brought them back down. "Here's your hoodie from the other day too by the way. I forgot to bring it to school this morning." She stated as she handed both jackets to him.

"Thanks." Gaara muttered turning to the door.

"See ya at school." Naomi waved as she walked him to the door.

"Later."

"Oh and uh, thanks again for earlier..." Naomi added and he nodded in response heading to his car. Naomi watched him go before turning back into her house and shutting the door.

"So you're boyfriend seems...nice." Her father stated; popping up behind her with her sister.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Naomi snapped while blushing. "We're just friends!" She added and Megumi raised her eyebrow questionably; clearly thinking of what she saw earlier.

"Really?" Her dad asked.

"Yes."

"Alright then. Well he still seems... alright." He continued. "Quiet." He added.

"Yeah he's a bit of an anti-social loner. I'm working on opening him up a little." She admitted.

"Well, he's got a good heart, I can see that." He decided. "I approve." He added with a smile.

"Ddaadd!" She exclaimed while blushing again. "Gah! I'm going to my room!" She added and headed upstairs.

Naomi plopped down on her bed and sighed. For awhile she simply just stared at her ceiling in thought while listening to her iPod. Her mind was going over everything that happened today. She wondered what it was about Gaara that allowed her to breakdown in front of him and not feel like a complete idiot afterwords. Hell she felt completely comfortable with most of her friends here, she felt like she could really be herself around them and didn't have to worry about them judging her. She was really glad that they moved here. Even if living conditions haven't improved that much she's made a lot of important friends here and they were all really great and unique people. As she thought about her friends her mind kept drifting back to Gaara.

_'He's so quiet and anti-social yet, he really understands me. He's considerate without even realizing it. He's actually a really great guy.' _She thought and a blush rose to her cheeks as she continued to think about him. Quickly, she shook her head trying to clear it and make the blush go away.

"Knock, knock." Megumi stated as she poked her head into the room while knocking on her door.

"What?" Naomi asked curiously; taking her headphones out of her ears.

"Just coming to chat. Scoot over." She stated and nudged her dogs over so she could sit beside her.

"Ssoo..." Naomi stated, curious as to what she wanted to talk about.

"Just thought I'd come and see how things are going for you. How's school?"

"Umm fine I guess, how's college?"

"A hell of a lot of work." Megumi replied with a slight laugh. "How's things going friend-wise? Making good friends?"

"Yeah, they're all really good people." Naomi answered. "How's things with Itachi?" She teased.

"Pretty good, we're dating now." She replied with a happy smile.

"That's good, he's been really important to you hasn't he?"

"Yep, sssssoooo..."

"Sssssoooo?" Naomi asked confused.

"How's the love life for you?" She asked with a wide grin.

"That's what you wanted to talk about?"

"Well of course, sisters have to talk boys together. So spill, who's your current crush?" She replied eagerly.

"You're retarded." Naomi retorted. "And I don't like anyone." She added, looking away.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Not even Gaara?" She asked with a mischievous smile.

Naomi flushed beet red and glared at her sister. "No!" She snapped.

"Hahahaha rrriigghhtt..." Megumi laughed, not believing her.

"I don't like him." Naomi hissed.

"I'm sure you don't." Megumi retorted, rolling her eyes. "You can't lie to your big sis."

"I'm not lying."

"Then why did you blush? Why do you blush when you're teased about him? Why do you blush around him? Why are you so happy when he's around? Why are you so nice around him? Why were you on top of him today? Why did you refuse to leave his side when he was in the hospital?" She pressed and laughed when Naomi blushed darker and darker.

"I do not like Gaara." She stated but sighed in defeat. "It doesn't matter anyway, he has no interest in relationships." She admitted; remembering what he had said earlier._ '"I __don't need anyone and I don't need love."' _"He's set on being alone." She added.

"What makes you say that?"

"He basically said so."

"You can always change his mind."

"How?"

"Trust me, he doesn't really mean that. He's mind says he wants to be alone but his heart says something else, he just doesn't want to admit it."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because he's just as stubborn about admitting his feelings as you are. I can see, just by the few times I've been around you two. There's something there."

"Right."

"I'm serious."

"I doubt it."

"Take my word for it, keep doing what you're doing and his mind will change."

"If you say so."

"You're so stubborn." She stated shaking her head and eyed Naomi; she looked pretty down. "Seriously though you shouldn't be affected too much by what he said. People change all the time." She added trying to cheer her up.

"I'm content being friends." Naomi responded stubbornly.

"Well whatever happens, happens."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to get involved with my love life." Naomi stated shaking her head.

"Hey, I have to be nosy. So anybody else interested? What about that long haired boy that picked you up this morning? Who's he?"

"Huh? Oh you mean Neji? He's Hinata's cousin, Hinata picked me up this morning it's just Neji's car."

"I see. Well he's a cutie."

"Yeah... he's got a hell of a body..." She admitted; remembering when she saw him training.

"Do you like him too?"

"Nope, he's just my friend." Naomi answered simply.

"Really?" Megumi responded before smiling. "I smell a love triangle." She sang teasingly.

"Wait what?" Naomi asked confused.

"You, Gaara, and Neji obviously."

"Did you not just hear me say I don't like him? And look no blush or anything that may look like I'm lying." She responded confused.

"So? That doesn't mean he doesn't like you." She laughed.

"He doesn't."

"And how do you know?"

"Because... I just do. I mean it's not like he's done anything to hint at liking me." She stated though as she said it a few memories returned to her: he showed off to her when she saw him training, compliments in art class, a few comments here and there, he put his hand on her face when he saw she was injured, he got mad a few times when she's mentioned doing something with Gaara. _'Oh God...'_ She thought in dread.

"Earth to Naomi." Megumi called waving her hand in front of her face to bring her back to reality.

"Shit." Naomi muttered.

"Ah, rethinking what you just said?"

"Yeah... There's been a few signs..." She admitted.

"Well to add to your list of signs he was totally checking you out this morning when he and Hinata picked you up." She teased while laughing.

"Oh shut up!" Naomi snapped.

"Then again Gaara was totally checking you out today too..." She added teasingly and this time Naomi blushed while glaring.

"Just stop talking." She snapped

"Ah I love some good love drama. Gotta keep me posted on this sis." She laughed.

"Why? It's my problem, besides I don't need you to blab to Itachi and have him tell Sasuke cuz then Sasuke will bring it back to my group of friends."

"Well if its obvious to me and I've only seen you with them a few times then it has to be blatantly obvious to your friends."

"They've never mentioned anything about it."

"You're so dense."

"Shut it."

"At any rate, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You like one guy, another guy likes you, and you don't know the feelings the first guy has for you. What's your course of action?"

"Oh. Umm I'm not sure. I mean I don't want any drama between Gaara and Neji, they're both friends and they're trying to get their band off the ground, fighting over a girl could ruin it." She stated as she thought about it.

"Though if you're convinced Gaara doesn't have feelings for you, why would he fight over you?" Megumi asked curiously and teasingly.

"It's the fact that I'd pick Gaara over Neji, there's the tension."

"I see, so what's your plan?"

"I guess I'll just... umm play things by ear I guess. Do things how I'm doing now, play dumb to any of Neji's advances, stay friends with Gaara, but keep getting closer to Gaara if I can."

"And if it turns out Gaara likes you too, will you choose to ignore your feelings for the sake of letting them keep their friendship and band? Do you really think they're even the kind of people to let a girl problem ruin their friendship?"

"I don't know, maybe. I don't want to come between them but... I really do like him..." She admitted and she blushed lightly.

"So hopeless." Megumi stated; shaking her head but hugging Naomi nevertheless.

Gaara sighed as he sat in his room, his head and body ached. Maybe he pushed himself a bit too much today. He lied down on his back on his bed and sighed as he stared at his ceiling. Just what had come over him today? Why did he become so talkative around Naomi, hell why had he been so concerned about her today? He couldn't figure out what it was about her that made him act and feel this way. Shaking his head he decided it was the painkillers at fault. They must have made him so open today, the effect of taking away the pain and mellowing him out must have made him talkative and open as well. It made perfect sense.

"Hey Gaara." Kankuro called, stepping into his room.

"What?" Gaara demanded.

"Temari told be to bring you your meds." He stated; holding up the meds and water.

"Joy." Gaara grumbled reluctantly.

"Take your meds you pill popper." Kankuro laughed as he forced Gaara to take them from him. Gaara remained silent and took the pills. "So where have you been all day?" Kankuro asked curiously.

"At a friend's." Gaara responded while laying back down.

"Oh? Naomi's?"

"Yeah." Gaara admitted. "Her dad wants to take us all out on Friday to some five star restaurant." He added after remembering what he said.

"Alright, I'll be sure to let Temari know we're going out with your girlfriend's family." Kankuro teased as he headed out of Gaara's room.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Gaara snapped as he left. "I don't see why people keep thinking that." He grumbled darkly as he relaxed.

With the help of his meds he began to doze off as he brooded. Soon he found himself slipping into a dream about Naomi. As the dream suddenly started taking a turn from something simple and pleasant to something more...intimate he awoke with a jolt. Gaara sat up in bed as he tried to calm down. Why did he have a dream like _that_ about Naomi? The dream came flooding back to him and he felt the heat raise to his face.

_Naomi and Gaara were heading to their science class together before Naomi took him by the hand and pulled him off somewhere._

"_Where are we going?" Gaara demanded._

"_You'll see." Naomi replied simply and lead him up onto the roof and to the far side around the corner._

"_And we're ditching why?" Gaara demanded._

"_I...I wanted to thank you for saving me Gaara." She stated as a faint blush started to from on her face._

_"You already did."_

"_No, I want to properly thank you." She replied and started unbuttoning her shirt, sliding it off her shoulders. "Please take me as repayment..." She added; looking off to the side shyly._

Gaara quickly shook his head as the the rest of the dream started to replay. He forced the dream away and quickly locked it up in the back of his mind while trying to ignore his reactions to that dream (one reaction being the hardest to ignore). He lied back down and tried as hard as he could to ignore his little problem but he couldn't. He chewed on his lip irritably and fidgeted before grumbling under his breath and getting up. He headed into the bathroom and started a cold shower while grumbling.

"What's wrong with me?" He muttered as he fell back onto his back on the bed after his shower and placed his arm over his eyes. "I shouldn't be thinking those kind of things about her..." He continued. He decided to blame the painkillers again. They must be making him loopy, that had to be it.

"You're not crazy, you're in love." A small voice stated and Gaara snapped his eyes open. He looked around his room for the source of the voice but couldn't find one. "Down here." It spoke again.

Gaara looked down in the direction of the voice and stared in surprise. A small mini-Gaara wearing completely white- white dress shoes (with gold on them), white slacks, and a white button up shirt, was sitting cross-legged on his chest. There was a hello floating over his head, angel wings on his back, and a harp leaning against his leg.

"Uhhh..." Was the only thing Gaara could manage saying as he tried to comprehend the hallucination sitting on him.

"Something the matter?" The mini-Gaara asked.

"...Who are you...?" Gaara finally spoke.

"I am you. I am your conscious." It spoke, standing up.

"Yep, the painkillers are making me delusional." He decided and cautiously poked the mini-angel-thing standing on him, wanting to see if it was solid.

"You're not delusional, it's just been awhile since we've talked. How've you been?" It stated

"...fine." Gaara answered; rather concerned about his sanity at this point. He was having a conversation with a little person dressed up like an angel and claiming to be his conscious. "What...exactly are you doing here?" He decided to ask.

"I'm here to have a little chat with you obviously. You've been really good about ignoring me and keeping me locked up. Though recently you've relaxed a bit and I'm free." It explained.

"...Right... And if you're my conscious, where is the other guy?" Gaara asked; waiting to see if a mini-devil-thing would pop up too.

"He's not here at the moment." The angel replied simply and not very angel like to Gaara. "So now we have this opportunity to talk without his interference." It added and marched over to his face. "So, you've been troubled recently right?"

"...I guess..." Gaara stated.

"Well I am here to tell you not to be troubled any longer!" It declared.

"And why is that?" Gaara asked; once again concerned for his mental stability.

"Because, there's nothing wrong with you at all. You're in love." It stated happily.

Gaara snorted mockingly in response. "Yeah right." He responded sarcastically.

"...Alright fine, maybe not quite love _yet _but you do like her." It admitted.

"Like who?" Gaara demanded; playing dumb to his new little insanity.

"Naomi of course." It answered happily.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You. Like. Her." It repeated.

"I don't like anyone."

"Lies!"

"I think I know my own feelings."

"No, I'm your conscious, I know your feelings."

"You're not my conscious, your a figment of my imagination."

"Ok, so if I was a figment of your imagination, why would you imagine a little angel telling you that you like someone?"

"..."

"Ha."

"Shut it." Gaara snapped and flicked the little thing.

"Ow!" It snapped and actually hit him in the face with its harp. "That was uncalled for!" It yelled while smacking him again.

"What kind of angel are you? Hitting people." Gaara retorted grabbing him by the wings and holding him in the air.

"Hey I'm you, are you expecting a perfect little angel?" It responded while trying to struggle out of his grasp. "Now let go you barbarian!" It ordered; beating his hand with its harp.

Gaara dropped it onto his bed and watched it struggle out from the blankets and fly into his face flicking him on the nose before settling on his chest again.

"Now then, back to the matter at hand." It stated; straightening itself out. "First off, you like this girl, you need to start acting like you like her. Treat her like royalty!"

"No." Gaara responded instantly.

"Stubborn jerk."

"Annoying pest."

"Look, you kept asking what was the matter with you, why you keep thinking of her all the time. I've come here to tell you why. The reason is the growing feelings you have for her. If you don't start acting on those feelings you'll loose her."

"I do not like her."

"Why do you refuse to admit your feelings?"

"There are no feelings."

"Yes there is. Come now, I am your conscious, or a figment of you imagination as you seem to think. Feel free to talk to me about it. No one but us will ever know."

"I'm not going to start venting to an insanity."

"Who better to vent to? You won't talk to your family or friends. Now why are you in denial?" It demanded again.

"...I don't want to..." He admitted.

"Don't want to what?"

"...I don't want to take any chance of being hurt..." He finally admitted. "I've seen plenty of relationships go to hell, it brings nothing but heartbreak and pain. I don't want to take a chance of that happening to me. I rather be alone then get betrayed by someone I loved." He admitted.

"Not every relationship is a bad one. There are plenty of good ones. Do you think Hinata would ever betray Naruto if they dated?"

"Even so, relationships don't last forever, especially ones made in high school."

"Some do. There are some cases where high school sweethearts get married and stay together forever. Some people spend their whole lives looking for the one and others find it on their first try."

"I rather not chance it."

"And while you're being stubborn how are you going to feel when somebody else comes and snatches Naomi away? Say Neji perhaps?" It continued to press.

Gaara scowled at the mere thought of Neji being with Naomi, it made his blood boil thinking of her being with anyone. However before he could say much more there was a poof of red smoke and another mini-Gaara appeared. This one was decked out in black. It was wearing black biker gloves, a black leather vest, tight black leather pants, and black boots. Red horns were sticking out of his hair and he had a devil's tail and wings. Oddly enough however he was tied up completely. His hands were bound behind his back, feet tied together, and rope was wrapped around his entire body to keep him from moving.

"He simply won't let Neji have her. He might not want to admit wanting the girl just yet but that doesn't mean he can't keep her for himself anyway." The devil stated.

"Stay out of this you!" The angel snapped.

"What? Mad I finally escaped?" He retorted. "Well for the most part anyway." He muttered trying to struggle free.

"You tied him up?" Gaara asked the angel while freeing the devil one.

"And gagged me and locked me away." He complained.

"I didn't need you interfering. Gaara and I needed to talk.

"You cheated, you don't talk to him unless I'm here too. Some angel you are."

"I think I've finally lost it." Gaara muttered to himself.

"No you haven't you whinny idiot." The devil stated while directing his attention back to Gaara. "Now the important thing to keep in mind is you don't have to do or admit anything you don't want to. Despite what this sissy, pansy, goody goody says. You either like her or you don't, no need to rush into figuring out which. Take your time, don't start randomly being nice to her, but sure as hell don't let some other man get her before you. Keep her to yourself until you decide if you actually want her or not."

"That's so wrong! Naomi is a person, Gaara can't control her and keep her to himself if he doesn't even want her."

"Sure he can. She's pretty much his anyway. Why should any other man get her? Besides even if he doesn't _like_ her he's still attracted to her. He should use her and enjoy her while he can."

"Silence you fiend!" The angel yelled at him.

The devil smacked the angel in the back of the head. "Shut it girly boy."

"Hey!" Gaara snapped as the two began to bicker and fight. "Break it up." He ordered when they attacked each other. Gaara picked each up and held them away from each other. "Alright I've accepted the fact that I'm having some form of mental breakdown right now, don't make it any worse for me and get out of here. Take your bickering somewhere else." He ordered.

"Fine." They decided.

"But remember, we're always watching what you're doing." The angel stated.

"And we'll be back." The devil added and they poofed away in little clouds of red and white smoke.

Gaara just lied there in utter silence for a long while, trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. He literally just had a conversation with miniature versions of himself dressed like an angel and devil and both decided to pester him about Naomi. Maybe his head got hit one too many times during that fight? Or the painkillers were really making him trip some major balls.

* * *

The following morning Naomi was surprised to find just Neji picking her up for school. Hinata was catching a ride with one of the girls instead (courtesy of Neji and unbeknownst to Naomi). When she answered the door and just found Neji there she froze for a split second.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Uh morning." Naomi responded snapping out of her shock. "Where's Hinata?" She asked curiously.

"She's riding to school with Sakura and Ino."

"Oh. I see." Naomi responded and turned to grab her bag. "Be right back." She called and went to grab her back.

"Heh, have fun." Megumi teased from her spying spot.

"Shut it." Naomi snapped and got her stuff quickly leaving with Neji.

As they drove to school she tried not to feel too awkward being alone with Neji. She focused her attention to looking out the window and responded whenever Neji asked a question but tried to not make eye contact. She did feel bad though, she really didn't want to make her friendship with Neji awkward just because she had a hunch that he liked her. She wanted to keep things normal with him and she had a feeling it might take some work.

When they got to school Naomi speed walked to their group of friends. "Thanks a lot for the ride Neji." She stated as they walked to the group.

"Anytime."

They reached their group and Naomi smiled at Hinata as she walked up to Naruto to return his jacket, a bright blush was burning on her cheeks and only intensified when Naruto grinned back at her. She looked away from them and then turned to look at Gaara standing next to him.

"Good morning Gaara." She greeted.

Gaara stopped listening to what Sasuke was saying when he heard Naomi's voice. He turned to look at her and acknowledge her greeting but as he looked at her his dream came flooding back. Gaara froze and quickly turned around to hide the sudden color rushing to his face. "Morning." He grunted with his back to her.

Naomi blinked in confusion but before she could ask him what was wrong Shikamaru started talking to her about an English project they were working on and she got distracted.

"What's with that blush?" Naruto muttered quietly to Gaara while everyone was distracted.

"What blush?" Gaara demanded; now back to normal.

"I saw you blush when you looked at her. Hell you looked like you saw a ghost before you started turning to the same shade of your hair." He teased.

"It's nothing. I...don't feel good. I think I'm running a fever." He lied.

"Come on, you can tell your best friend." Naruto teased.

"Shut up."

"Did something happen between you two yesterday?"

"Not really." He answered.

"Then why the sudden change around her?"

"There's no change." Gaara retorted but Naruto kept pestering.

"What? Did you have like a naughty dream about her or something?" Naruto asked jokingly and laughed but stopped when he saw Gaara's face flare again for a split second. "Did you?" He asked seriously now.

"...no..." He answered while not making eye contact.

"You did didn't you?" Naruto asked again and Gaara remained silent, giving him the answer he needed. Naruto burst out laughing hysterically. "Ahahahahaha that's great!" Naruto laughed and Gaara glared at him while everyone else stared at them confused.

"What's so funny?" Sakura asked confused.

"Huh? Oh nothing, Gaara just said something funny." Naruto answered while trying to calm his laughter down.

"You're a loser." Sakura stated, shaking her head.

"Oh, I can't make it to band practice." Neji spoke up to Naruto and Gaara.

"Why not?" Naruto asked surprised.

"I have to do something after school." Neji answered.

"Fine, we'll take the day off from practice then." Gaara stated.

"Works for me." Sasuke agreed.

The day continued to pass pretty uneventfully. Naomi managed to stop feeling awkward around Neji (or at least to the point where she could act normal), Gaara quickly went back to his normal self and didn't act oddly around Naomi again, and Naomi and Hinata discussed days that they could drag the boys to the mall and get them their band outfits.

Towards the end of art class Naruto and Naomi were discussing random things together and when the bell rang they both noted Neji getting up and quickly hurrying out of the classroom.

"Hmm, wonder what he's up to today." Naomi muttered as everyone gathered their things.

"Dunno, want to follow him?" Naruto suggested.

"Why not." Naomi decided and they both quickly slipped out of the classroom and followed Neji down the hall.

Naomi expected him to head to the parking lot but instead he stayed in the building and started heading to the next floor. Naomi and Naruto followed him up the stairs and saw him go into another music classroom.

"Interesting." Naomi muttered as they crept up to the door after him.

They peeked into the room through the door window and were surprised to find Hinata in there as well. So was some man that looked like he could be an agent for something. Neji was leaning back against the far wall with his arms folded and watching the other two, the man sat at a desk with papers all over it and a video camera set up beside him, Hinata stood in the middle in the room looking pale and nervous but also determined. She also changed out of her school uniform and was wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked confused and cracked the door open so they could hear.

"Alright, you preformed your dance piece. Now you also listed that you were going to sing one song, and play an instrument while singing another?" The man stated, reading off the paper.

"Is Hinata trying out for something?" Naomi asked Naruto confused.

"I don't know maybe."

"Y-yes." Hinata answered nervously.

"And this boy is?"

"My cousin, he's here to help play the background music while I sing." Hinata explained.

"Ah, I see. Well when you're ready." The man stated and got comfortable while getting ready to write on another paper.

Neji picked up a guitar case in the corner and came over to Hinata. Opening it up and taking out an acoustic guitar. "Ready?" He asked her as he got ready. Hinata nodded and he started to play then she started to sing.

~~~~ Yours to Hold by Skillet~~~~

**_I see you standing here_**  
**_But you're so far away_**  
**_Starving for your attention_**  
**_You don't even know my name_**

**_You're going through so much_**  
**_But I know that I could be the one to hold you_**  
_**  
[Chorus:]  
Every single day  
I find it hard to say  
I could be yours alone  
You will see someday  
That all along the way  
I was yours to hold  
I was yours to hold**_

**_I see you walking by_**  
**_Your hair always hiding your face_**  
**_I wonder why you've been hurting_**  
**_I wish I had some way to say_**

**_You're going through so much_**  
**_Don't you know that I could be the one to hold you_**

**_[Bridge:]_**  
**_I'm stretching but you're just out of reach_**  
**_You should know_**  
**_I'm ready when you're ready for me_**  
**_And I'm waiting for the right time_**  
**_For the day I catch your eye_**  
**_To let you know_**  
**_That I'm yours to hold_**

___**[Altro:]  
I'm stretching but you're just out of reach  
I'm ready when you're ready for me **_

"Damn she can sing." Naomi muttered as they listened to Hinata sing. "Did you know?" She asked Naruto.

"I had no idea." Naruto responded in amazement while staring at her and listening to her sing.

"That was very good." The agent stated and clapped briefly when she was done.

"Thank you." Hinata mumbled shyly.

"Alright, you had one more piece to present?" The agent asked again while reading over papers and writing more notes.

"Yes." Hinata answered again and walked over to the piano and sat down nervously. She took a deep breath while trying to calm herself.

"You're doing fine." Neji muttered, trying to calm her down as well while putting the guitar away and taking another music case. This time he pulled out a violin and stood beside the piano.

"I can do this." Hinata muttered and nodded to Neji, letting her know she was ready.

"Go ahead." The agent spoke and Hinata began to play.

~~~~~~ Good Enough by Evanescence~~~~

_**Under your spell again.  
I can't say no to you.  
Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand.  
I can't say no to you.**_

**_Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly._**  
**_Now I can't let go of this dream._**  
**_I can't breathe but I feel..._**

**_Good enough,_**

___**I feel good enough for you.**_

**_Drink up sweet decadence._**  
**_I can't say no to you,_**  
**_And I've completely lost myself, and I don't mind._**  
**_I can't say no to you._**

**_Shouldn't let you conquer me completely._**  
**_Now I can't let go of this dream._**  
**_Can't believe that I feel..._**

**_Good enough,_**  
**_I feel good enough._**  
**_It's been such a long time coming, but I feel good._**

**_And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall._**  
**_Pour real life down on me._**  
**_'Cause I can't hold on to anything this good enough._**  
**_Am I good enough for you to love me too?_**

**_So take care what you ask of me,_**  
**_'cause I can't say no._**

"She's amazing." Naomi spoke.

"Yeah she is..." Naruto agreed. "But...why's she singing love songs?" He asked confused.

"Why do you think?" Naomi responded; surprised as to just how oblivious Naruto really is.

"...She likes someone?" He asked thinking about it.

"Yeah."

"Who?" Naruto asked while trying not to look too depressed at the thought of Hinata liking someone that wasn't him.

"Who do you think?" Naomi answered simply and turned her attention back to Hinata.

"That was lovely." The agent spoke while finishing writing things down.

"Thank you." Hinata responded shyly and stood up away from the piano.

"Alright, that was everything correct?"

"Yes."

"Very well." He replied while standing up and turning off the camera. "Thank you for the audition. You will be notified within the next two weeks if you are accepted. I personally believe you have what it takes and look forward to seeing you at our school." He stated while he packed up all his paperwork.

"Thank you very much." Hinata thanked happily while releasing a deep sigh of relief.

"Have a good day." The agent responded and started heading to the door.

Naomi and Naruto quickly moved out of the way and darted to the other side of the hall, leaning against the wall and starting up a random conversation with each other to make it appear that they were just hanging out there. The agent nodded to them as he left and once he was gone around the corner the two headed back to the room. This time going in.

"That was amazing Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed as they burst inside the room.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed in surprise and her face burned red before she fainted.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed and the three rushed to her to see if she was ok.

"She fainted." Naomi stated in surprise; this being the first time Hinata fainted in front of her.

"She has a tendency to do that a lot when Naruto surprises her." Neji whispered to her.

"Hinata? Why do you always faint around me?" Naruto demanded confused and concerned.

"He still doesn't get it?" Naomi whispered back.

When Hinata finally came around they had propped her up against the wall and waited patiently for her to awake. "Hey, you've come back." Naomi laughed when she noticed she was awake.

"W-what are you two doing here?" She asked confused and still blushing.

"We saw this guy rushing out of class after school so we followed him." Naruto explained; pointing to Neji. "How come you've never told us you can sing, play the piano, and dance?" Naruto asked.

Hinata just blushed and shook her head shyly. "It never came up." She answered quietly.

"So what were you doing, auditioning for something?" Naomi asked as they all started heading out of the building and to their cars.

"I was auditioning for a preforming arts college." She answered.

"Now? You're only a junior." Naruto responded confused.

"If I do it now its makes my chances of getting in better." She explained while staring at her feet.

"Do you want to or is your dad making you?" Naomi asked curiously; knowing how controlling and old fashioned like her father was.

"I do want to go...I like preforming...but I don't think I'm ready, I'm too shy, stage fright, and I'll make a fool out of myself. I'm not confident enough..." She rambled.

"You'll do fine. You were great today." Naruto responded encouragingly and Hinata flared beet red again.

"I-I don't know if I can." She muttered. "But... dad saw the potential in me, and knows I have an interest in it... but he thinks I'm a failure because I'm so shy... I have the talent but am too afraid to preform. I just want dad to be proud of me and not think of me as a disgrace to the family. So if I do this, if I get accepted then it'll make him proud of me." She explained while staring at her feet.

"You should do what you want to do Hinata, not try to appease someone else." Naruto stated.

"It is what I want to do... I just have to force myself to be able to do it." She answered; slightly more determined.

"As long as its what you want." Naruto replied.

Naomi remained silent. She could understand how Hinata wanted to prove herself to her father, she wanted to be accepted and acknowledged by him. She could tell she also liked preforming if she could just get out of her shell. She supposed that was a good thing about Hinata's determination to prove herself to her father, it would help her come out of her shell and open up more while she does something she enjoys.

Neji and Hinata ended up giving both Naomi and Naruto rides home as Naruto's bike was still in the shop and Sasuke left already and Gaara had already left at this point as well so Naomi couldn't bum a ride off of him again either.

"Thanks for the ride guys." Naomi stated as they reached her house.

"Bye." They called after her as she left.

Naruto stared at Neji curiously from the the backseat as he and Hinata drove him home. He was trying to piece things together in his mind. He had a feeling that the little love triangle he and Sasuke had been noticing between him, Naomi, and Gaara was getting more interesting. He could tell Neji liked her and could tell Gaara did too (even if neither wanted to admit it) but what he couldn't tell was which one Naomi liked. Personally he was rooting for Gaara. Figuring it'd be a little fun if he got involved he decided to talk to Naomi and figure out just what the whole story is.

He turned his attention away from Neji and onto Hinata. He had no idea she was so talented. He often wondered why it took so long for him to to realize his feelings for her. All their childhood he had been chasing after Sakura and never paid attention to the sweet, beautiful, talented, and kind girl by his side the entire time. It wasn't until the last couple of years when he finally gave up on Sakura that he started to notice just how amazing Hinata was. She had always been there and it took him forever to finally realize that. Sakura, she was mean and always treated him horribly, even after they become close friends he was always second to Sasuke. But Hinata, she had always been kind to him, even when they were really little. She was kind, she was there for him, she was shy around him but she tried her hardest to be helpful to him, she was the sweetest girl he ever met and he felt like a complete fool for not realizing all of this sooner.

As all this ran through his mind a thought suddenly occurred to him and it dawned on him. He froze as the thought occurred and stared at Hinata again. Suddenly feeling as if everything made sense now. He recalled the songs Hinata sang earlier. Her first song was about her always being there for someone and them not noticing, and her second about her wishing to be good enough for someone. The first song made everything crystal clear now. She was singing about him!

Naruto's brain felt like it shut down. He couldn't seem to think he just felt a huge sense of lightheadedness and lightheartedness. Finally his brain kicked on again and began working double time.

"Earth to Naruto, are you going to answer that?" Neji demanded and Naruto snapped out of his long train of thoughts.

"huh?"

"Your phone." Neji clarified and Naruto just then noticed that his phone was indeed ringing.

"Oh." He responded and answered it. He talked on the phone for a few minutes then hung up. "Hey, my bike's done. Do you think you can drive me to the shop so I can pick it up?" He asked when he got off the phone.

"Sure." Hinata spoke up for Neji and Naruto smiled widely at her.

"Thanks."

Neji drove him to the shop while looking at Naruto confused. He seemed really giddy now. He couldn't be that happy about his bike being fixed. They reached the shop and Naruto got out of the car. "Thanks guys." He stated as he got out. "Bye Hinata-_chan_!" Naruto waved as he headed inside the shop.

"Chan?" Hinata mumbled surprised and blushing.

Naomi sat on her bed boredly as she watched TV. It was roughly around nine o'clock at night now and she couldn't think of really anything to do so it was endless, mind numbing, television all day. She recalled the days events and wondered just how long it would take Naruto to figure out Hinata's feelings. She knew she was an oblivious person from time to time but Naruto was horrible, it was just so blatantly obvious and he still had no idea.

She was pulled out of her musing by a tap on her window. Confused she got up and went to the window to see. She was surprised to find Naruto standing on the roof of the patio that was below her window. He grinned and tapped on the window again, signaling he wanted in. Naomi hurriedly unlocked her window and opened it up, stepping aside to let him slip in. "You know you could have used the front door." Naomi stated as he carefully climbed in. She then looked out it. "How'd you get up there anyway?"

"That tree right there." Naruto started, pointing to the large tree growing in her back yard. "Its close enough to the patio that you can climb the tree and jump from the branches onto the patio roof, then just walk right up to your window." He explained.

"Right, so instead of using my front door you hopped my fence, climbed my tree, jumped onto my roof, and came in through my window?"

"Yep, it was more fun that way." He responded grinning. "Plus I didn't know if your parents would have liked me coming over this late." He added.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She asked curiously.

"I wanted to talk about a couple of things."

"Ookk, you couldn't do this over the phone?"

"Nope had to be in person."

"Alright then, what is it?"

"Ok so first off, you're like Hinata's best friend now right?"

"Yeah..."

"Ok so a thought occurred to me on the way home and I wanted to know if I was right."

"And the thought was?"

"Does Hinata like me?"

"What?"

"Its just..." Naruto began and looked off to the side. "I really, really like her." He admitted before looking at her face again. "And in the car ride home I was thinking about it and it kind of dawned on me that the first song she sung fit our relationship. So I started thinking she sung it about me and so I figured you two are so close so you would know. Am I right? Does she like me too?" Naruto explained.

_'My God, he finally realized it!'_ She thought excitedly. "It took you long enough." She laughed.

"So she does like me!"

"Yeah." She grinned and Naruto grinned widely and cheered.

"So now that you've figured that out what are you going to do?" She asked curiously.

"I think... I think I'll drop her hints that I like her so she catches on too and then when there's the perfect moment ask her out." He decided.

"Good plan." Naomi agreed.

"But don't tell her I like her. I want to show her I do and let her realize it herself." He continued.

"Fine." Naomi smiled and Naruto hugged her happily.

"Man I'm so glad you moved here. You're a great friend." He laughed.

"Yeah I'm glad I moved here too. You're all great people." She laughed.

"I can think of two other guys that are glad you moved here too." Naruto stated teasingly as he let go of her.

"What are you talking about?" Naomi asked though knowing full well what he was talking about.

"Oh nothing. Anyway, now onto the next thing I wanted to talk to you about." He began.

"Ok what is it?" Naomi asked curiously.

"Who do you like?"

"Huh?"

"Who do you like; Gaara or Neji?" Naruto elaborated.

"What makes you think I like either of them?"

"A good guess. So which one?"

"Naruto, that's my business." Naomi responded.

"Neji?"

"No."

"Gaara?"

"No." Naomi replied again but cursed when she felt a blush rise.

"Oh?" Naruto responded knowingly.

"Shut up." Naomi snapped.

"Come on, I've told you about who I like. You can tell me these things." Naruto continued to press.

"Alright fine! I like Gaara, happy?" She retorted and frowning while a blush burned on her cheeks.

"Haha I knew it." Naruto laughed.

"You're going to keep your mouth shut about it." Naomi demanded.

"Fine fine, I won't tell anyone." Naruto answered.

"Why'd you come here just to ask that anyway?"

"I'm curious. I've noticed some signs and had to ask about them."

"Ok then." She muttered shaking her head.

They talked with each other for a short while longer before Naruto decided to leave and left out the window again. Naruto hopped over her fence and walked down to his bike parked near her neighbor's house. As he rode home he thought about what they talked about. So Naomi liked Gaara? A part of him wanted to rush over to Gaara and inform him of it. Glad that his loner friend had somebody. However, another part of him made him decide not to. As much as he wanted to help and push Gaara into the right direction he also knew his best friend and knew how anti-social and socially awkward he was, especially when it came to women. He knew it was best for Gaara to go for Naomi at his own pace. So he'd decide to stay out of it... directly anyway... He figured he'll let Gaara do what he wanted but he might need some slight pushes from the shadows.


	6. The Game Ends

And here is chapter six of Behind Blue Eyes. Sorry about such a long wait, I've been super busy these days it seems. I'm trying to keep updated and will try to update some of my other stuff as well. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only my made up charaters and ideas.

WARNING: This chapter has a lot of angst and foul language.

* * *

When Friday rolled around Naomi was excited for Friday night and for Saturday. Friday was when they would go to dinner with Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro and Saturday was when Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, Neji, Hinata, and herself would go to the mall so she and Hinata could help pick out outfits for the guys. As soon as school was over she reminded Gaara of what time her family would be there and then rushed home to get ready.

Gaara sighed boredly from his spot on the couch. He was boredly waiting for Naomi and her family to show up. He felt ridiculous in the suit Temari forced him into. He had on black slacks, black dress shoes, a blood red button up shirt, black tie, and black suit jacket. He really wasn't enjoying the monkey suit very much. However Kankuro was sitting beside him as well and looked equally irritated about the suit he was forced into. He ironically was wearing the same thing as Gaara but with a purple shirt instead of red. Both sat with their arms crossed and watching TV boredly as they waited for their sister.

"Why do women take so long?" Gaara demanded boredly.

"No idea." Kankuro responded equally as bored.

The doorbell ringing got their attention. "Temari door!" They called not looking up from the TV.

"You get it, I'm busy!" She shouted back from upstairs.

"Get the door." Gaara and Kankuro stated to each other at the same time.

"I'm your older brother, do what I say." Kankuro demanded.

"You do it." Gaara responded just as stubbornly.

"Its you're girlfriend." Kankuro responded once again.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Gaara snapped harshly.

"You two are idiots." Temari stated as she came down the stairs and answered the door herself. "Can't even answer the damn door." She added.

Temari opened the door and smiled at Naomi. "Hey girl, looking good." She laughed as she let her in.

"Thanks Temari, you too." Naomi laughed as she stepped in.

Temari had put on a black floor length dress that had a split on the side that went all the way up her side and stopped near her hip. The dress was low cut and had spaghetti straps. Her hair had slight curls to it and she had on a pair of black heals. She wore a long gold chained necklace with a large emerald at the end of it (resting against her cleavage), a pair of emerald earrings, and a gold bracelet.

Naomi was also wearing a black dress. It was more of a cocktail styled dress and went to the floor in the back but stopped at her knees in the front, flaring out slightly as it went down. The under layer was blood red and showed through behind her and also in the front where it started to flare out. It was a halter top dress that had a low, rounded cut so it exposed a lot of cleavage. A tip of red fabric showing through near the base of the cut. She wore a pair of black strappy heels and had on a black choker with a blood red jewel hanging from it. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun with her bangs still framing her face and a pair of earrings dangling with red jewels to match the choker. She was able to cover up what remained of her bruises and cuts with makeup and it was hard to tell she was even hurt.

"I'm almost ready, I just have to go grab my purse." Temari stated as she started heading back towards the stairs. "The guys are in the living room." She added as she headed back to her room.

Naomi wandered over to the living room and peeked inside. "Hey guys." She greeted and they stared at her.

"Not bad." Kankuro complimented.

Gaara just stared in awe. She looked beautiful. He tried to open his mouth to speak but no sound came out and he shut it again. He couldn't voice a comment so he just stared.

"Don't just stand there gaping like a fish do something!" His mini-devil self stated, popping out of thin air and onto his shoulder. This was not the second time his little insanities have visited him, actually they appeared several times throughout the week. He was glad (but also concerned) that no one else could see or hear them.

"What am I supposed to do?" he whispered back to it. Thankfully Kankuro and Naomi were talking and weren't paying attention to him or who he might be talking to.

"Compliment her!" The angel stated; appearing on his other shoulder.

"Compliment?" He asked; unsure of what to say.

"Tell her she looks so fucken hot right now." The devil stated.

"What? No! Tell her you've never seen a creature more beautiful then her." The angel retorted.

"Fine if you want to stick to beautiful then tell her the dress is beautiful but it'd look better on your bedroom floor." The devil responded grinning.

"Horrible perverted fiend!" The angel yelled at him. "Tell her that her beauty rivals that of the goddess Aphrodite herself." The angel added.

They continued to throw ideas to Gaara back and forth but he ignored both of them. He wasn't going to take either of their advice. The devil would have him sounding like a perverted asshole and the angel would have him sound like a romantic pussy. The two were utter morons. Gaara snapped out of his musing and got up off the couch to (finally) properly greet Naomi.

"Hey Gaara." Naomi greeted; grinning and looking him over.

"Hey. You... uh... look... nice?" He tried unsure. The devil and angel both smacked themselves in the forehead at his failed attempt at a compliment before poofing away.

"Uh thanks? So... do... you?" She joked complimenting him in the same way.

"Alright lets go." Temari stated as she came back down.

The four of them left out of the living room and out the front door. When they got there the three siblings froze in shock. "A stretch limo?" Temari asked in utter surprise.

"My dad did say spare no expense." Naomi responded as they headed to the limo.

"Holy shit." Kankuro muttered and Gaara nodded in agreement.

"You guys good to go?" Megumi asked as she waited for them next to the limo. She was wearing a short, satin, blue, strapless dress and silver heels.

"Yeah we are." Naomi responded and they all slipped into the limo.

"Good evening." Naomi's father greeted once they were all in.

"Evening." They responded. "You really didn't have to do all of this." Temari added, nodding to the limo.

"Oh we don't mind at all." Naomi's mom responded with a smile and Naomi rolled her eyes at her mother's false behavior.

The limo driver took off and they all rode in a somewhat silence. Temari started up a conversation with Megumi, Kankuro inspected all the different things in the limo, and Naomi talked with Gaara quietly off to the side. Her parents sitting in silence. The limo took them downtown and they stopped in front of a huge fancy restaurant. Everyone (excluding Naomi's parents) gawked at it as they were led inside.

"He wasn't joking." Gaara muttered to Naomi and she shook her head.

"Nope, told you he was serious." She replied.

They all chatted casually while they sat and conversation went on about a lot of different things. Kankuro and Temari chatted cheerfully with Megumi and their parents while Naomi and Gaara sat in silence. Naomi sat with a slight glare on her face while she watched her parents carry on.

"What's the matter?" Gaara whispered to her; seeing the irritation in her eyes.

"They're so fake." Naomi muttered back, nodding to her parents. "They're only acting like they're a perfect married couple and getting along because we're in public. Believe me they'd never be agreeing about so much and she'd never be so nice if we weren't in public and them trying to make a good impression." She explained.

"I can tell." Gaara admitted, he too was able to pick up on their fakeness.

"So, Gaara, what kind of things are you into?" Naomi's father asked; cutting into their conversation.

The waitress brought them their appetizers and so Gaara waited until she was done and gone before answering. His response was simply a shrug and Naomi resisted smiling when her mother scowled at his response (or lack there of). "Well, what do you plan to do with your life?" She asked curiously.

Gaara looked up from his food and thought for a moment. "I'm a singer in a band so I guess that." He explained.

"A band? What kind?" Her father asked curiously.

"More of an emo metal band." He explained.

"That screaming stuff you're always listening to Naomi?" Her mother asked as politely as she could without sounding rude about what she thought of his music.

"Kinda like that yeah. It actually takes a lot of skill to be able to sing like that and the same goes for the playing, you have to have a lot of talent to be able to play and sing like them." She replied while eying her mother, as if daring her to complain about it.

"So do you plan on going to college then?" Her mother continued; turning her attention back to Gaara and ignoring Naomi.

"Yeah." He answered.

"How will you do both?"

"It's called online school." Naomi answered for him.

"Hmm, I see." She stated. "What about you two?" She asked Kankuro and Temari.

"We're already in college." Temari answered.

"And where are your parents?"

"Our mother passed away and our father is always away on business." Kankuro answered.

"So you've raised your younger brother yourselves?"

"For the most part you could say that. I'm the eldest and I take responsibility for the family." Temari stated; able to pick up on Naomi's mother's disapproval and not liking it. Her own tone sounding casual but also clearly gave off the message to not say anything about her family anymore.

"Ssssoooo... have you guys lived in Konoha all your lives?" Megumi spoke up, trying to change the subject a bit.

"No, we're from Suna. We've been here about four years." Kankuro answered.

"Oh cool, what's Suna like?" She continued and successfully managed to redirect everyone's attention to a more friendly topic.

"I'm sorry about her." Naomi whispered to Temari; referring to her mother.

"Its ok." She responded.

Soon their food arrived and now there was a new distraction and everyone gladly took the food as a chance to stop talking without an awkward silence. They ate their food with little conversation and Naomi and Megumi laughed as Kankuro repeatedly tried to hit on the waitress whenever she came around.

"Your brother's horrible." Naomi laughed to Gaara.

"You're telling me." Temari responded shaking her head.

"Alright so who wants dessert? The waitress asked once she had cleared all their plates and came back.

"Depends, are you on the menu?" Kankuro asked and Temari and Gaara both kicked him from under the table. "OW!" he hissed as both of his shins got kicked.

"Be respectful!" Temari snapped.

"Act like a decent person for once." Gaara growled.

The waitress just laughed at their scene. Everyone else at the table was also laughing except Naomi's mother. When everyone calmed down they ordered their dessert while shaking their heads. They ate their dessert in silence and once they were done Naomi's father paid the bill and they were waiting for the receipt.

"Here you go." The waitress stated when she returned with it. "You all have a good night." She added and passed Kankuro as she left; slipping a folded piece of paper in his suit pocket.

Everyone stared in surprise. Megumi, Naomi, Gaara, and Temari waited until she was gone before rushing over to him and reading the note over his shoulder. _I get off at 10 ;) _and under that was a number with a heart next to it. They read it in disbelief.

"Good Lord Kankuro how can you actually manage to score like that?" Naomi demanded in disbelief.

"I got the looks and the game baby." Kankuro answered proudly.

"I think your game needs work." Megumi stated shaking her head.

"I beg to differ." Kankuro responded waving the paper in front of her. They left the restaurant chuckling and once they were outside Temari gripped Kankuro by the ear. "Oi oi oi! Woman!" Kankuro exclaimed as he tried to struggle free.

"We are in public Kankuro, not only are we in public but we are in high-standing public. Naomi's family treated us to a five star evening. Show some respect, act your age, and don't act like a perverted pig for once!" She scolded.

"Alright, alright. I'll behave. " Kankuro gave in, still trying to get free.

"Good." Temari responded releasing him. "I'm sorry about his behavior." She apologized to Naomi's parents for him.

"It's quite alright." Naomi's mother stated kindly though her eyes seemed to say differently. Naomi's father on the other hand was still silently chuckling.

They rode back to Gaara's house in almost complete silence. While they rode Gaara and Naomi talked quietly amongst themselves again. Naomi was trying to figure out how tomorrow was going to work. It was going to end up Gaara picking everyone up with his car around ten and they all go together instead of meeting up there at the mall.

"See you guys later." Megumi stated when they pulled up to the house.

"Bye guys." Naomi waved.

"Later, thanks for the time." Kankuro stated.

"It was our pleasure. After all we had to do something in return for Gaara saving Naomi." Naomi's father stated.

"We had fun, it was nice to meet you all." Temari stated.

"It was nice to meet you all as well." Naomi's mother stated with a large fake smile.

"Bye." Gaara muttered.

"Take care, you're welcome in our house any time young man." Naomi's father called as the three got out of the car.

The limo driver waited till they were in there house before they pulled away and headed home. "That was fun." Megumi stated happily as they rode.

"They need parental control in their household." Naomi's mother stated.

"Temari and Kankuro are going on 19 and 20." Naomi retorted. "They're adults." She added.

"Yes but they weren't always adults, by the sound of it they've very seldom had a parental figure around them."

"No but they don't need it. They're decent people the way they are. I'm impressed by them being able to raise themselves so well." Naomi continued.

"Sure they're good people but they all have personality flaws and their younger brother? They're letting him pick that kind of life style for himself."

"What's wrong with what Gaara wants to do?" Naomi demanded.

"He wants to be a rock star? That's not practical at all. He has no real interest in school-

"He wants to go to college." Naomi cut in.

"Online college on the side while he plays."

"It still counts."

"Yes and when he starts getting consumed by his fame and starts turning to parties and drugs he'll forget all about college."

"You don't know any of that would happen."

"He's what 16? Lets assume he and his band start getting famous while they're still young; all that popularity will go to their heads. They won't have any form of parental control around them, they could do what they want, they're still teenagers. They're too young for the life of the famous. They're not emotionally mature enough for it all."

"You don't know any of them."

"No, but I do know how it always turns out for young stars. They start out great and end bad. The kids will live up the party and the rock star life; they'll party, they'll drink, they'll experiment with drugs, they'll get involved with all kinds of women and their groupies, they'll get involved with illegal activities. They'll do whatever they want because they're teenagers and think they're invincible and think because their famous they can get away with it all, they'll forget all about being responsible, considerate, and mature, they'll forget all about their futures outside of music, and the bonds they have now will be forgotten and used."

"You're going off a basic assumption. Just because that's how it turns out for a lot of people doesn't mean that's how it turns out for everyone in the industry. Furthermore, you don't even know them. You have no idea what Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, and Gaara are really like. You don't know their morals, their dreams, any of that. Don't be so quick to judge them just because you don't approve."

"I'm just trying to advise you. You like that boy don't you? He'll forget all about you on his trip to fame."

"No he won't." Naomi snapped harshly; her mother's comment actually stinging a bit.

"Stop upsetting her." Naomi's father cut in, directing his attention to his wife.

"Mom, you might not like him or his family but you don't need to be so cruel about it. Besides like Naomi said you have no idea any of that would actually happen. They are all really good people and they have sensible heads." Megumi cut if as well.

"You wouldn't care if it was one of Megumi's friends who wanted to be famous. You're only giving them such a hard time because they're my friends." Naomi snapped and glared out her window.

"Naomi." Her father stated.

"What? It's true. She's making such a big deal out of this because it's my friends."

"Naomi, you know that's not true." Her mother stated.

"Yes it is. You've been pissy about this whole ordeal since the beginning. You shouldn't be so mad about dad doing all this because he's doing it as thanks for Gaara saving my life. Instead of thanking him like dad did you spent the whole night finding things to pick at about him and his siblings. You put on this stupid fake ass appearance of being grateful for what he did and spent your time making subtle jabs at him. I'm more embarrassed about your behavior then they are of Kankuro's." Naomi snapped.

"I was upset with your father for spending such an absurd amount of money on a thank you gift. I was not upset about the boy saving your life."

"So your money is worth more then my life?"

"Naomi!" Her dad exclaimed in surprise.

"That's what she's saying isn't it? I'm not worth all the money you spent in thanking him. Hell she probably wishes he didn't save me in the first place."

"That's enough!" Her dad yelled as her mother was about ready to speak up again.

* * *

The limo fell silent and Naomi glared moodily out of the window until they got home. When they did Naomi stormed up into her room and locked herself in. She took her hair out of her bun and removed her jewelry before storming around her room trying to find some pjs. She changed out of what she was wearing before collapsing on her bed and cuddling with her dogs while she fumed.

The next morning Gaara was at Naruto's. Kankuro had left shortly after they were dropped off after dinner. He returned with the waitress and Gaara and Temari both decided it'd be best to let him have the house to himself so they took off and Gaara went to crash at Naruto's They were now both up and getting ready to go pick everyone else up and head to the mall.

"So who are we picking up first?" Naruto asked as they headed out of his apartment and to Gaara's car.

"Naomi." Gaara answered simply.

"Alright then. How'd last night go with her?"

"...Fine." Gaara answered disinterestedly.

"Man you're so boring." Naruto teased as they drove. "hmm so you think Hinata's picked up on any of the hints I've made this week?" Naruto asked curiously.

"She's not as dense as you so probably." Gaara answered.

"Hey I'm not that dense." Naruto responded.

"Rrriihhggtt. It took you how long to realize she liked you?"

"Yeah well you're dense too."

"How am I dense?"

"You don't notice the hints someone is sending you." He answered with a grin.

"Who? What hints?" Gaara asked confused.

"Nothing, never mind." Naruto laughed.

They drove to Naomi's house and Naruto sent her a text to tell her they were there. As they waited the little devil appeared on Gaara's dashboard. "Make Naruto get in the back." It demanded. Gaara sent it a confused look, too afraid to actually speak to it with Naruto right there. "If he gets in the back, Naomi sits up front and Neji won't sit near her." It explained. "No don't move him. He was there first, he has the right to keep his seat." The angel spoke up, appearing beside the devil.

"Get in the back seat." Gaara ordered; completely ignoring the angel.

"What why?" Naruto asked confused.

"Just sit in the back." Gaara continued to press.

"What, want Naomi to sit up front with you?" Naruto teased.

"I'd prefer it, and if you move, you'll be able to sit with Hinata." He answered and Naruto instantly hopped into the back.

"Good thinking." He answered happily; taking his place in the middle.

Naomi came out of the house and shut the door behind her. She waved to the guys as she locked the door behind her. "Hey guys." She greeted when she reached the car.

"Hey." Naruto greeted and Gaara nodded.

Naomi hopped into the car and looked over the boys. Naruto was wearing black pants, tennis shoes, a black and orange shirt, and a orange hoodie with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He had on a studded belt and headphones hung around his neck. Gaara was wearing really dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt, a black and gray stripped hoodie, and black skate shoes.

Naomi herself was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, skate shoes, a black shirt that hung off one shoulder and was full of rips and tears and under that was a purple tank top. She had on her usual jewelry, a few extra bracelets, light make up, and straightened her hair.

From her house they drove to Sasuke's and picked him up. This time Naomi texted to tell him they were here and they didn't have to wait long for him to come out. When he came out he was wearing black pants, a white shirt, and a black jacket that had white lining on the inside. He threw on a watch, a studded bracelet, and dog tags.

"Hey." He greeted when he reached the car.

"Hop in the back." Naomi stated and he crawled in.

From there they drove to the last stop and picked up Neji and Hinata. None of them actually had to text them that they were here this time. One of the front room windows was open and Hinata was able to spot them form the window. The two came out and headed to Gaara's car. Hinata was wearing a kneecap length black dress with tank top like straps, and over that she had an off the shoulder cream colored sweater, she topped it off with a little bit of jewelry and black flats. Neji was wearing dark blue jeans, black shoes, a white short sleeve shirt, a black vest over it, a black wrist band, a watch, and dog tags as well.

"Where are we both going to sit?" Neji asked curiously when they reached the car.

"Hinata, you can sit on Naruto's lap." Naomi spoke up and Hinata blushed deeply. Naruto grinned in response and pulled her into the car. Once she had situated herself on him (while blushing terribly) he wrapped his arms around her waist and caused her to blush even more.

"What are you doing?" Neji demanded as he shut the door and buckled up beside them.

"I'm her seat belt." Naruto laughed as if it was obvious.

"Oh brother." Sasuke muttered rolling his eyes. "Hey Gaara turn on some music so we don't have to listen to them." He added while nodding to the three beside him.

"Can I plug in my iPod?" Naomi asked Gaara and he nodded.

"Go ahead."

Naomi hooked her iPod up to his car's stereo and soon they were blaring Creature Feature as they drove. Naomi and Naruto jokingly singing along to the songs as they went and the others just shaking their heads, tuning the two out, or laughing (Hinata) at their antics. As they drove Naomi glanced at Naruto and Hinata in the back and inwardly grinned before leaning over and whispering something in Gaara's ear. Gaara smirked lightly and nodded. Naomi grinned and leaning back into her seat while inconspicuously locking the car doors.

As they neared a turn off onto another rode Gaara suddenly sped up, took an extremely sharp turn into it, and floored it so they sped down the rode and then when the huge bump in the road came they actually got some air time and when they landed Gaara did a sharp doughnut and started drifting sideways before coming to a complete stop.

"What the hell was that about!" Neji and Sasuke yelled from their positions of crouched down in the seats and clinging to the seats in front of them for dear life.

"That was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed laughing like a lunatic while happily holding Hinata very close to him and keeping a firm and protective grip around her.

"Oh my God..." Hinata muttered in fright; trying to get her heart to slow down and clutching onto Naruto.

"Lets go again! Lets go again!" Naomi cheered also laughing like a psychotic person.

"Naomi wanted me to test out Hinata's seat belt." Gaara smirked.

"Naomi!" Hinata squeaked.

"Not funny." Sasuke snapped at her.

"That was great." Naruto responded and nodded to her in a thanks while pulling Hinata closer to him.

"No more joy riding." Neji ordered.

"Fine, fine." Naomi laughed and they started driving again.

Gaara smirked lightly and eyed Naomi before flooring it at the bump again and they flew again. "Gaara!" Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke yelled in fright while Naruto and Naomi both shouted "WWWEEEE!"

Once they got back on the main rode they continued driving as if nothing had happened. Aside from Naomi still chuckling, Hinata still slightly frightened, Naruto still holding Hinata tightly while grinning, and Neji and Sasuke eying Gaara suspiciously. When they reached the mall Neji, Sasuke, and Hinata eagerly got out of the car and Naruto and Naomi got out with grins, Gaara just shook his head. They entered the mall and headed to a bunch of chairs to sit and go over their general plan.

"So what exactly are you two going to make us wear?" Sasuke demanded when they sat.

"Right so here's what we got." Naomi replied pulling out some papers out of her purse. "Hinata designed Sasuke's and Naruto's outfits. I covered you two." She added nodding to Neji and Gaara. She showed them the papers that they had drawn the looks on.

"Not bad." Naruto muttered as he looked them over.

"We decided you should all where your own things but have some things in common. You'll all wear black pants, studded belts, and chokers. But the chokers will each be different. Naruto you're more punkish so we decided a studded choker would be the better look for you." Naomi explained and he nodded. "Neji we figured you needed a slightly more sophisticated look then the others so just a plain black choker, Sasuke you needed more of a bad ass thing going on for you so your choker will be spiked, and Gaara I decided you needed a freak thing going on so yours is actually a collar and with a chain attached to it." She concluded Neji and Sasuke both nodded and Naruto snickered at Gaara.

"Gee thanks." Gaara muttered rolling his eyes.

"What? I think it's hot." Naomi stated as she stared down at her drawing.

Gaara's eyes widened and a smirk flashed on his face while Neji scowled. "I'll work with it." He decided.

"So lets go get the outfits." Hinata spoke up quietly.

They headed off and started their search in Hot Topic. The girls managed to get most of what they were looking for there and after searching in stores like Spenser's as well, and other stores to improvise and they managed to find all that they were looking for. Hinata managed to pick out black pants for Naruto, studded belts that wrapped around him, black arm warmers, studded bracelets, a studded choker, new eyebrow piercings, and an orange shirt that she cut the sleeves off and cut the collar. For Sasuke she managed to find black pants, a studded belt that slightly hung off his hip, a blue tank top, a long sleeved fishnet shirt, spiked bracelets, a spiked collar, and new earrings for the piercings that flew up his ears. Naomi found black pants for Neji, a regular studded belt, a purple vest, bandages to wrap up his arms and hands, and a black choker; simpler but good all in its own. For Gaara she had to do some extra searching but found him black pants, a larger studded belt, a blood red shirt that was open at the chest that laced across the opening, over that she managed to find a trench cloak, she got him his collar and a chain to attach to it, and got him a few new earrings as well.

When they were done looking for the guys outfits they went to the food court for lunch. They ate and joked around; just relaxing and having a good time, even Gaara and Sasuke were speaking more then they usually do. While they joked Naruto fell silent; gazing off into the distance. There were six guys that kept drawing his attention. They had been in the mall since they got there and kept turning up everywhere they went. There was just something he didn't like about them. While he eyed them he began to notice a few other things about them. One was eying security cameras, another watching security guards, one kept his hands in his pockets at all times, another had a sidebag on him with something sticking out with a tag still on it, the last two were surveying the area. So they were shoplifters? Soon they caught on to his staring and all six of them stared at him; signally they knew he was watching them. Naruto stared them down right back and one nodded his head to the door while glaring.

"Hey guys I want to go pick something up real quick." Naruto stated standing up.

"Huh? Ok we'll go with you." Naomi stated and they all started to stand up.

"No I'll go grab it by myself. Its kinda private." Naruto stated and leaned over to Naomi. "I want to go buy a gift for Hinata." He whispered.

"Oh. Alright, we'll be around so just text us when you're done." She stated.

"Will do. I'll be back soon." He stated and started walking off. He made eye contact with those guys again, signaling them and walked away.

Naomi and the others wandered around in a store; boredly window shopping. "I wonder what's taking Naruto so long." Sasuke muttered.

"He said he wanted to get a gift for someone." Naomi answered and gave a discrete nod to Hinata.

"Still, doesn't take that long." Neji added.

"He'll be back soon." Gaara stated.

"Yeah." Naomi agreed and soon she and Hinata split away from the guys to go try on some clothes.

While the girls did that the guys went off to the mens department so they didn't have to deal with the girls shopping. "You've been really quiet are you alright Hinata?" Naomi asked as they walked to the changing room.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." She answered with a smile and as soon as Naomi looked away it fell.

She knew something was up. She could tell by how Naruto was acting and she saw him stare those guys down but he went through a lot of effort not get any of them involved so she didn't speak up but now she was really worried. He hadn't come back yet. She chewed on her lip nervously while she debated what to do. Once she and Naomi had stepped into separate changing rooms she sighed and waited a minute before stepping back out and quickly rushing out of the store.

Hinata rushed out of the store and began to look around. She tried to think of where Naruto might be. If they were going to fight then it probably wouldn't be inside the mall. Outside? Running outside and around she couldn't find him anywhere but she got a new idea. If they were still there and they weren't outside then they'd be in the back of the mall. She went over to a loading area and snuck inside the back of the mall. It was actually really creepy back there and empty. She listened as best as she could and she heard a faint noise off in the distance like something hitting the concrete. Worriedly she rushed that way.

Naomi blinked in confusion as she looked around the fitting room. Hinata was nowhere in sight and wasn't in any of the rooms. She went and found the guys. "Have you guys seen Hinata?" She asked when she reached them.

"No, thought she was with you?" Sasuke answered.

"She was but we went to go try on the clothes and when I was done and came out she was gone."

"We haven't seen her." Gaara muttered.

"I tried texting her too and she's not responding." Naomi added worriedly.

Neji quickly tried to call his cousin but got no answer, he then followed that up by trying to call Naruto but he didn't answer either. "Alright what's going on?" He demanded.

"No idea." The others responded shaking their heads in confusion.

"We better go find Naruto, I bet Hinata's with him. Only question is where." Sasuke spoke up as they quickly left the store.

"I'm worried." Naomi muttered.

"We'll split up. Gaara go with Naomi and Neji come with me." Sasuke stated and they broke off and began to search the mall for the other two.

Hinata rushed to the sound of something hitting concrete and as she turned a corner she found what she was looking for. She skidded to a halt and ducked back behind the corner before they saw her. She hid there and looked on with concern. Naruto was pinned to the ground by one guy and another guy stood over him. The three of them were really beat up and there were four other guys already unconscious on the ground around them. Hinata bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to do. She had to help, he needed her but she knew she wasn't strong enough to take on these guys if Naruto couldn't.

"What do I do, what do I do?" She muttered fearfully. She continued to chew on her lip and then spotted a box of old beat up mannequins laying next to a locked storage door. She eyed the mannequins and then looked back at the boys.

"You should really have minded your own business." The guy told Naruto as Naruto glared down from under the other guy.

"You were stealing from the stores in the mall and stalking us! I saw you turning up everywhere we went. You were going to frame us weren't you! I won't let you get away with all the crap you were trying to pull!" He snapped.

"Yeah we knocked off quite a few stores today, no one but you caught on either. As far as the following goes, yeah we were going to pin it on you. It would have been easy to make it look like you were the ones that did it." He answered and Naruto struggled to get free.

"Bastard!" He shouted.

"Heh, look kid you need to understand a few things. First being, don't pick a fight with six guys." He stated stepping over to Naruto. "The second, make sure not to try to pick that fight by yourself and not have your friends to help you." He added and kicked Naruto in the face.

Naruto groaned in pain and the two guys laughed but their laughter was cut short by a loud crack sound and the guy standing above Naruto crumbled to the ground unconscious. Hinata stood behind him and held a mannequin arm like a bat.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed in shock.

"Get away from Naruto!" She exclaimed, waving her arm at the last guy.

"You got to be kidding me?" He muttered in disbelief.

"Hinata get away!" Naruto shouted trying to get the guy off of him.

"No." She answered shaking her head no. "I'll protect you." She added determinedly.

"No Hinata get out of here, these guys are dangerous!" Naruto shouted.

"I don't care." She answered; her grip tightening on the bat.

"Well, this is new." The guy on top of Naruto stated; eying her. "I have no objections to fighting a girl, I advise putting down the arm and leaving us be." He added.

"Hinata, run away. You can't fight this guy." Naruto pleaded.

"I know I can't." She muttered quietly.

"Then why? Quick go now, please!"

"I won't. I'll protect you."

"Hinata! Leave!"

"No, I won't. I... I've always admired you Naruto-kun..." She muttered and Naruto stared. "You've always been kind to me and your determination and optimism, your smiles made me feel better. It all made me feel better about myself, I tried to follow after you, to be like you and follow my own path proudly. You've brought me happiness, I've always wanted to be by your side, to be with you... I'm not afraid to protect you and of being hurt in the process, I'd die for you because... I love you." She confessed and Naruto just stared in utter shock.

"Touching, really." The guy stated sarcastically and Hinata ran at him, swinging her arm at him.

The guy caught it and shoved her back, Hinata stumbled backwards and tripped over the body of one of the other guys and fell onto her butt. Smirking the guy got up off of Naruto and advanced on her. Naruto cursed and tried to get up but fell back down; he hurt too bad to move. "Leave her alone!" He shouted while he tried to get up again.

Hinata quickly stood up as he got near her and she swung a fist at him. He caught her wrist in a tight grip and kept her from hitting him. Hinata glared and her knee reared up and she kicked him as hard as she could between the legs. As he started to double over holding himself her other arm came up and she slammed her palm into his chin forcing his head back as she pushed up as hard as she could. He stumbled back this time and fell over. Hinata didn't waste a second and rushed over to Naruto trying to pick him up and help him get away.

"You little bitch." The guy growled as he got up and wiped blood away from his mouth. He grabbed hold of Hinata by the back of her sweater and threw her away from Naruto.

Hinata skidded across the ground but kept her balance and didn't fall this time. The guy advanced on her once again and she swung a right hook at his face. She hit his cheek and he stumbled slightly but didn't stay stunned for more then a second. His own fist reared back and he uppercutted her hard in the gut.

Hinata gasped in pain; saliva and specks of blood flying from her mouth. She slid off of his fist and fell to her knees; clutching her stomach and trying to breath regularly through the pain while fighting to keep herself from throwing up. The guy glared down at her and grasped a fist full of the front of her sweater and dress, lifting her to her feet. Hinata tried to struggle out of his grasp and he shook his head. He tossed her to the side as hard as he could and she flew into the wall, the back of her head hitting the wall with a loud smack and she crumbled to the ground unconscious.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That was so pathetic." The guy stated shaking his head as he looked down at her. "Didn't even have to try." He added.

Naruto shook in rage as he stared at Hinata's unmoving form. Anger boiled up inside him and he began seeing red. Adrenalin started pumping through his veins and he stood up the pain he was in not even registering in his mind thanks to the adrenalin and rage.

"I'll fucken kill you!" Naruto shouted at the guy and rushed at him to attack him.

"Where are you going?" Gaara asked Naomi as they searched for the two. All four of them were searching together again and their search had taken them outside and around the perimeter of the mall (they decided to check out the shops that were not directly attached to the mall but still in the same shopping center). They had no luck at all and as they were passing the loading docks area Naomi heard a noise coming from an open door.

"I heard shouting." She answered as she headed to the door.

"Why would they be back there?" Sasuke asked as he followed her.

"I dunno, but its worth checking out." She answered and they slipped in through the door and started heading down the hall. They could hear the sound of fighting and sped up until they turned at a corner and stopped.

"Naruto!" Gaara and Sasuke shouted in shock.

"Hinata!" Naomi and Neji exclaimed.

There were five guys laying on the ground unconscious, a mannequin arm laid on the ground, Hinata lay leaning against the wall and unconscious, and Naruto was pounding the shit out of a guy. He had him pinned and was just whaling on him repeatedly and relentless while shouting at him that he was going to kill him.

Naomi and Neji rushed to check on Hinata while Gaara and Sasuke rushed to restrain Naruto "Naruto stop!" Sasuke ordered and ripped him off the guy. The guy's limp body fell to the ground and didn't move.

"Let go of me! I'll kill him!" Naruto shouted as he tried to struggle free.

Gaara raised a confused nonexistent eyebrow at Naruto's rage and bent down to check the guy's vitals. He was still breathing (faintly) and had a pulse so Naruto hadn't killed him yet but it looked like he had gotten about half way there.

"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded as Naruto continued to struggle.

"That bastard hurt Hinata! I'll kill him!" Naruto shouted and began to try to fight Sasuke to get him off him.

Gaara sighed and smacked Naruto across the face hard with the back of his hand. "Snap out of it! Hinata's fine!" He shouted and Naruto blinked in shock.

Naruto's rage started to dissipate and what Gaara said registered in his mind. He quickly whipped his head around and looked over at Hinata. She was awake now and Naomi and Neji were looking over her to double make sure she was ok.

"Let me go Sasuke." Naruto ordered calmly and Sasuke slowly let him go.

Naruto glared down at the guy on the ground before turning around and heading over to Hinata. Sasuke and Gaara followed him over. "Are you ok?" Naruto asked when he reached her.

"...Yeah.." Hinata muttered quietly; she kept a hand over her stomach; that still really hurt. Naruto held out his hand to her and helped pull her to her feet. "I'm glad you're alright." Hinata mumbled shyly and Naruto pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"That should be my line." He muttered while he hugged her. Hinata blushed deeply and slowly wrapped her arms around him as well. Naruto smiled softly and moved his hand to under her chin, lifting her face up. "Thank you." He stated softly and kissed her.

Hinata froze and turned cheery red. She looked like she was ready to faint but she fought to stay conscious. She slowly kissed him back while her blush kept getting darker. Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji looked on in shock and confusion and Naomi looked on confused but smiling brightly. When they finally broke away from each other the three just continued to look on at them in utter shock.

"Sooo... care to explain what exactly is going on?" Naomi decided to ask; breaking the silence and bringing the two love birds back down to earth.

"Huh? Oh yeah." Naruto muttered; coming back to reality.

Naruto gave them a quick explanation of what happened and when he was done they just stared in silence. "So what should we do with them?" Sasuke asked as they stared at the six guys.

"Hmm..." Naomi thought as an idea occurred to her.

They quickly tied the guys up, gagged them, and left the stolen goods in plain sight in front of them. They then quickly called the cops, left an anonymous tip, and quickly rushed off so not to get dragged into any more trouble. Naomi and Gaara weren't too big on getting into another run in with the cops at the same mall as last time because of another fight.

Sasuke leaned Naruto against him as they headed back to Gaara's car, now that his anger was gone and he was calm the pain was starting to come back and he needed a hand with walking. They got back to Gaara's car and they all went back to Gaara's house. Once there Naomi and Hinata started cleaning Naruto up a bit and Neji, Sasuke, and Gaara watched on boredly. He wasn't too banged up, he had a hell of a lot of bruises, a busted lip, and a black eye but nothing was too seriously wrong and nothing was broken.

"Naruto took on six guys and isn't even all that hurt, you took on three and ended up in the hospital." Neji stated to Gaara as they watched.

"I would have been fine if they didn't pull knifes on me." Gaara snapped angrily.

"And Hinata jumped into the fight, you let Naomi get dragged in and hurt worse then Hinata was." He continued.

"Is there a point to this?" Gaara hissed out angrily.

"There might be. I would have kept Naomi completely out of it and not have gotten hurt." He replied.

"Too bad you weren't there. I was the one to save her." He responded and then smirked. "Oh and I'm the one she talks to when she needs to vent and I'm the one she goes to when something's wrong; not you." He added.

Neji opened his mouth to respond but then closed it again and glared at him. Sasuke looked on at them and at the tension between the two he half expected them to start fighting but they remained silent and just kept glaring at each other. Nobody else really heard what they were talking about so he looked back at the others and kept his mouth shut. Eventually everyone decided to go home and Gaara took Sasuke back to his house, Hinata, Neji, and Naruto back to Hinata's house, and then took Naomi home.

"Man what a crazy day." Naomi muttered as they drove back to her house. Gaara nodded in response and she sighed with a smile. "But Naruto and Hinata finally confessed to each other." She added happily. "That was so sweet and brave of her trying to save him." She finished.

"I didn't expect her to actually tell him she loved him." Gaara commented.

"I know right? I mean Naruto finally noticed she liked him but he was not expecting love. It was so cute." She agreed.

They fell silent and Naomi drummed her fingers on her leg boredly as she thought. She was so happy for the two now but a small part of her felt a little jealous too. She felt a twinge of jealousy about their cute little romantic moment after the fight. She wished something like that could have happened after Gaara saved her.

"Thanks for the ride." Naomi stated when they reached her house. "Aside from the fight Naruto got into today was pretty fun." She added laughing.

"See you Monday." He muttered and she grinned and left.

* * *

A week and a half had passed since their little mall adventure and a few things had changed. Naruto and Hinata were now an official couple and labeled as the cutest couple by everyone, band practice had gotten twice as long as they prepared for the concert that was just a month away now, Naomi's father charged the three boys and Naomi and Gaara had to go to court, the boys would end up going to jail for a short while and have to pay for Gaara's and Naomi's medical bills. Things at home were also starting to improve for Naomi.

Her family was actually getting along a lot better; they fought less and her parents were getting along better. Naomi actually felt pretty good about how things were going. She hadn't fought with her mother in over a week, she and her sister were still getting along, Hinata was opening up more thanks to Naruto, and she managed to keep getting closer to Gaara. Neji increased his flirting with her and she continued to try to be oblivious to it, she had noticed some tension between him and Gaara and she really didn't want to make it worse with the concert so close.

Today was a half day at school and Naomi discussed what to do after school with a few of her friends. Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Sasuke, and Sakura were all going to hang out and she was invited along. She was a little reluctant at first it felt a little odd like she was being paired up with Neji but she reminded herself that he was her friend and so were the others. She shouldn't avoid them or him so she agreed. She was disappointed that Gaara couldn't come with them but shrugged it off and decided she'd focus her attention on Sasuke and Sakura.

She was still trying to figure out the relationship on that one. Sakura made it blatantly obvious about how she felt about Sasuke but she couldn't figure out how Sasuke felt about her. Sasuke didn't treat her like the rest of his fan club, he treated her nicer and associated with her so that was a step up from the rest of the girls but she still couldn't tell about him. She also couldn't get him to talk to her about it, she brought up the topic several times during their forced sleepovers and he always dodged the question.

"Earth to Naomi?" Naruto called and Naomi snapped out of her train of thought.

"huh?" She responded.

"Are you ready to go?" Sasuke asked as they all stood at the school steps waiting for her.

"Yeah, sorry I was thinking." She stated and they started heading to the parking lot.

"So how's the driving going to work?" Sakura asked when they got there.

"We'll all just meet up at the restaurant." Neji answered.

"Hinata you want to ride with me?" Naruto asked but before she could answer Neji cut her off.

"She's not riding on a motorcycle. She'll ride with me." Neji answered for her.

"Come on, Naruto's a good driver." Naomi defended.

"Too dangerous." Neji answered.

"Over protective jerk." Naruto muttered under his breath.

"I'll ride with ya Naruto." Naomi offered since she didn't have her car today.

"Alright. So you and me, Hinata with Neji, and Sakura with Sasuke." Naruto stated and they nodded.

"Sounds good." Naomi agreed.

"Fine." Sasuke agreed and Sakura smiled happily about being able to ride alone with Sasuke.

"Lets go." Naruto suggested and they all went to their vehicles.

"Sorry about Neji." Naomi laughed as she got onto the bike behind Naruto and put her arms around him.

"Eh, its alright, this is my only ride so he can't prevent Hinata from riding it forever." Naruto answered with a shrug.

"True, true." Naomi agreed.

"Heh, besides this way you don't get stuck alone with him." He teased.

"Good point." Naomi agreed; not really thinking about that earlier.

They headed off and everyone started heading for an arcade/restaurant place for lunch. The plan was to chill there eating and playing games for awhile and then to go head to the movies later. They headed off to it and Naruto and Naomi were the first to arrive but they didn't have to wait long before the others showed up.

For awhile everyone just played some games and then got some food. Each got something different and while they ate Naomi began to feel a little sick. She paused in her eating and stared down at her plate; feeling like she was going to puke.

"You ok?" Sakura asked; concerned and noticing her complexion turn pale.

"I'm not feeling too great." She muttered taking a drink of her soda to try to settle her stomach.

"You look like you're going to puke." Sasuke stated as he stared at her.

"Is the food bad?" Hinata asked concerned.

"I think so... it tasted a little funn-

Naomi stopped in mid sentence and turned green; she quickly jumped up and moved. From where they were sitting the doors were closer then the bathrooms and so she booked it outside and over to a tree to vomit; ignoring the fact that it just started to rain.

"You ok?" A voice stated behind her and Naomi glance behind her to see Neji standing there.

"Been better." She muttered and turned back around as another wave of nausea hit her. She stiffened briefly when she felt Neji move behind her and pull her hair back for her. "Thanks." She muttered before another wave hit her.

"Hope she's ok." Naruto muttered as they waited for Naomi and Neji to come back.

"Wonder what's wrong with the food." Sakura muttered as she looked down at Naomi's plate. All of them felt fine but after that reaction none of them were really all that hungry anymore and weren't up to finishing their own food.

"Here they come." Sasuke spoke and they looked to see Naomi leaning against Neji and clutching her stomach as they walked back to the table.

"I'm going to take her home." Neji stated when they reached them.

"Sorry guys." Naomi apologized.

"Its ok." Hinata responded.

"You're going to come back right Neji?" Naruto asked; concerned about him making Hinata leave as well.

"Yeah, I'll be back." He answered.

"We'll be here." Sakura stated. "Feel better soon Naomi, drink lots of water and get some rest." She added and Naomi nodded.

"See ya guys." Naomi waved and they headed to Neji's car.

Naomi leaned her head against the passenger window while they drove. She couldn't figure out why the food suddenly made her feel so sick but her stomach was killing her now. She slipped out of her school jacket and cracked the window a little bit feeling like she was burning up but also clammy at the same time.

"You going to be ok there?" Neji asked as they drove.

"Yeah, I'll let you know if you need to pull over." She muttered and smiled weakly. "I'd hate to ruin your nice car." She joked.

"The car's washable." He answered and Naomi smiled weakly again before turning back to look out the window.

Neji glanced at her as they drove. She still looked pretty damn pale, he was half expecting her to blow chunks at any moment. He wondered if she got food poisoning from it or if it was undercooked or what. Once he reached her house he stopped and turned to look at her.

"You there?" He asked trying to snap her out of her daydreaming..

"Huh? Yeah, sorry spacing out." Naomi answered and turned to look back at the car that was parked at her house as well her mom's car. "Wonder who that is? Hmm maybe mom came home from work early with a friend or something." She muttered confused but shrugged it off.

"You sure you going to be ok? I can stay with you if you want." He offered.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Go back and have fun with the others." She answered shaking her head no and grabbing her stuff.

"Alright, feel better." He replied and reached over, tucking her hair behind her ear and she froze.

"Bye." Naomi responded and hurriedly got out of the car. Naomi headed up to her door and waved as Neji drove off. "That was a close one." She muttered shaking her head.

Naomi let herself in and dumped her jacket and book bag on the little table near the door. She had a strict plan of heading to her kitchen for a cup of hot tea and heading straight to bed to rest and hope not to puke anymore. She heard a noise in the living room and headed over there to let her mom know she was back early.

"Hey I'm ho-

Naomi stopped in midsentance; freezing and just staring at the scene in front of her in shock. Her mother was on the couch in the arms and having sex with some man in a business suit.

"Naomi!" Her mother exclaimed in shock when she saw her and the two leapt away from each other; her mother hurriedly fixing her suit skirt while the guy quickly rushed to pull up his pants. "H-honey what are you doing home? I thought you were out with your friends." Her mother asked nervously.

"I got sick so I came home." Naomi answered in a blank voice as she stared the two down. A kind of numb sensation ran through her; she wasn't feeling or thinking anything it was like a calm before the storm.

"Is this your daughter?" The man asked as he finished straightening himself out.

"Yeah." Naomi's mother answered staring at Naomi.

"I'll just let myself out and leave you two alone then..." He muttered heading towards the door. "I'll see you at work." He called as he left.

"Your boss?" Naomi asked when they were alone.

"Um, yes he is." She answered unsure about Naomi's strange calmness. She finished making herself look decent before looking away and then looking back at Naomi. "You're not to tell your father about this." She stated; getting herself back together.

Naomi's eye twitched as she said that and the storm hit. Anger boiled up inside her and rage began to burn. She started to shake in anger and her thoughts were running a mile a minute; too disorientating to think straight. "What?" She demanded finding her voice.

"You're not to tell your father of what you saw, understand?" She repeated.

Naomi actually let out a laugh; an airy, mocking laugh. "You got to be kidding me!" She laughed before she fixed her mother with a hard glare. "No, I'm going to tell him everything." She stated darkly and felt the rage to continue to boil and boil.

"You will do no such thing. You'll do what I say!" Her mother snapped.

"No!" Naomi shouted. "H-how could you do this! How dare you go behind father's back and cheat on him!" She shouted as the anger continued to grow; she was beginning to loose a grip on herself and she could feel it.

"Your father cheated on me first remember?" Her mother spat.

"Of course I fucken remember!" Naomi snapped. "How dare you! How could you do that to him! To me! You spent my entire life treating me like shit for what dad did and then you- you turn around and do the same damn thing! You fucken bitch!" She shouted holding her head and shaking it as she continued to loose her grip.

Naomi's mother glared and slapped Naomi across the face. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!" She shouted.

"Don't fucken touch me!" Naomi screamed moving away from her. "Don't you dare hit me, you're not my fucken mother so don't come near me!" She shouted.

"You're right, I'm not your mother, I'm not because your father cheated on me and knocked your whore of a mother up. Your mother abandoned you as soon as you were born." She answered and Naomi glared murderously at her as tears burned her eyes from the last comment.

"Stop talking!" She shouted. "Don't you dare call her a whore when you're no better! We came here to start over remember? We were actually getting along better now, things were improving, we came here to forget and then you- you turn around and wreck the family again! You turn around and screw your boss! Is that how you've been getting those raises? You fucken slut!" She shouted; she was shaking uncontrollably and she knew she was breaking.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that you little bitch!" She shouted and raised her hand to smack Naomi again.

"Do it!" Naomi shouted at her. "Do it I dare you! Hit me again and see what happens! You filthy whore!" She shouted antagonizing her even more.

"Shut your mouth! You're the home-wrecker here girl! You're responsible for the shity family we have. You can't expect a happy relationship between me and your father. Grow up child! This is the real world, the real world sucks ass. The only thing that matters is getting what you want and knowing how to get it." She shouted.

"Yeah it's easy to get what you want when you spread your legs for anyone offering it." Naomi snapped at her.

"Your mother would know all about that too wouldn't she?"

"Don't keep talking about her like that! You have no right! You have no right to treat me like shit, treat dad like shit, hell you have no right to do anything you've done! You're no fucken better! I can't believe how much of a bitch you are! You've taken all your anger at dad out on me my whole life! I'm a wreck because of you and then you- you do this!" Naomi shouted at her.

"Let go of the past."

"Hah! That's great coming from you miss bitchy spiteful slut!" Naomi yelled at her.

"I'm warning you, watch your damn mouth!"

"Make me! I dare you!" Naomi hissed. She grabbed a hold of Naomi by her arm and yanked her to her. "Let go of me!" Naomi shouted at her; ripping her arm out of her grip. "Don't fucken touch me you bitch!" She yelled.

"Enough!" She shouted and slapped Naomi across the other cheek.

"Never stick your hand in my face again bitch!" She screamed at her.

"You're going to stop this useless bitching of yours! You're not going to tell your father any of this and you're going to learn to watch your damn mouth when you're speaking to me! Do you understand me!"

"I'm telling dad everything! I'm telling him everything you've done and telling him just how much of a fucken slut you are. There's not a damn thing you can do to stop me either!"

Her hand came across Naomi's face again and this time the back of it. Naomi's eyes watered and her face stung as the ring she was wearing cut into her cheek as it went across. Naomi stood frozen in place her mind coming to a dead stop and she ignored the blood running down her cheek. "I'm done." She muttered.

"What?" She demanded.

"I said I'm fucken done!" Naomi shouted at her and stormed away from her. "I'm leaving! I've had enough!" She shouted as she marched out of the room.

"Naomi get back here!" She called after her; following her.

"No! I'm not doing this anymore!" Naomi yelled at her.

"Naomi, why don't you just calm down." She pleaded.

"Why don't you just fuck off and die!" Naomi retorted as she marched down the hall.

"Naomi stop!" She shouted as Naomi reached the door.

"I don't need this shit! You stupid, sick, abusive, selfish, fucking whore!" She screamed at her and ripped the door open; storming out into the rain and to the side walk.

"Naomi!" She shouted following her out.

"FUCK YOU!" Naomi screamed at her and stormed down the street.

"Naomi come back here!" She yelled after her and started following her down the street.

Naomi glared and started to run. She ran as fast as she could; racing down the streets blindly and turning at random places, not really running in any specific direction. She knew she wasn't following her; not in heels. She'd go back and probably follow with the car. That is if she even bothered to follow her at all. Regardless she just kept running. She raced down alleyways and stopped at one with a chainlink fence, she scaled it and jumped down; ignoring the pain as her sleeve and arm got caught on the top of the fence and tore/cut down her arm. She landed in the mud and ignored the mud all over her just got back up and kept running.

Naomi ran and ran having no idea where she was running to or for how long. She just kept going; she didn't feel as bad while she ran. Eventually though her legs began to hurt and she couldn't keep going. She stopped in some alley and leaned against the wall to rest and catch her breath.

Naomi paused in catching her breath as another wave of nausea hit her (and this time not just from feeling sick) and she fell to her knees as she threw up in the mud and on herself. When she was done puking everything she was running from started rushing back to her. The emotions and the anger came flooding back and her eyes started to water.

Naomi leapt back to her feet and screamed as she punched the brick wall in front of her. She kept punching and pounding on the wall while she screamed and cried; the only way she seemed to be able to express the turmoil inside her. She sunk to her knees again and her fists slowly came to a stop and she just leaned against the wall and sobbed...

"Hey girl, are you ok?" A voice stated from behind her.

Naomi stopped crying and looked over her shoulder to see two guys standing behind her and looking concerned. She leapt to her feet; spinning around and propping herself up against the wall defensively.

"Hey, calm down it's ok." One of the guys stated.

"Are you in some type of trouble?" The other asked.

Naomi looked at them both and looked at the ground and found herself nodding without even being aware of doing it. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment she felt so detached.

"Here, we'll help you, come away from the wall." The first one stated offering out his hand.

Naomi found herself stepping away from the wall and towards them, again it felt like her body was doing this without her mind's say so.

"Alright, we'll take you back to our place and get you out of those wet clothes then you can tell us all about it." The other stated putting a hand on her shoulder. Naomi froze when he touched her; her eyes widened and anger blazed inside them and her rage boiled over again. She looked back up at them and lashed out violently.

Naomi's mind finally kicked back on and she finally snapped out of her blind rage. She blinked in shock to find the two unconscious guys in front of her and blood all over her clothes. She backed away from them in fear; staring down at her hands in shock at what she had done. She just attacked two guys? And for what? One touched her shoulder? She was loosing it completely. She backed up more until her back hit the wall and she slid down it into a sitting position.

"I've finally snapped..." She muttered quietly while she stared at her hands.

She knew it was true, she finally had a mental break down. Finding out what her mother did was just too much. It finally pushed her over the edge and she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't bottle anything up anymore everything came flooding back to her and she was raging and loosing her mind, just like Gaara warned her. Thinking about Gaara made her pause and she remembered something they said during that conversation.

"_When I snap you gotta be there to help me pick up the pieces. Be there to pick me up when I fall." She stated giving another weak smile. _

"_I can do that." Gaara muttered._

She remembered that and stopped. There was only one person she wanted to be with right now. She knew he'd be one of the first people they'd go to when they finally started looking for her but she didn't care. She had nowhere to go now and he was the only one she wanted to run to.

Naomi stood up and walked out of the alley way to see just where she was exactly. She had no real idea where she had been running too. After looking around for a bit she discovered she had some how managed to end up on the complete and utter side of town, in Naruto's poor district. She had a rough idea about where to go from here and headed off; keeping to the back streets to not be spotted by anyone who might be looking but also to draw less attention to herself with how she looked right now.

Gaara looked up from the book he was reading when he heard a knock on the front door. He was the only one home at the moment and really didn't feel like answering it so he figured he'd just ignore it. It probably wasn't that important. He turned his attention back to his book but paused when the knocking started again. He continued to ignore it until the knocking didn't pause and began to sound desperate. Curious now he got up and headed out of his room and downstairs to the door.

"Who the hell could it be?" He muttered to himself and reached the door. Gaara was surprised to find Naomi on the other side of the door when he answered. He stopped and stared at her in shock. "Naomi?" He asked in utter shock as he took in her appearance.

She was soaked to the bone; her entire school uniform drenched and hair sopping wet and plastered around her face. He tried to draw his attention away from her now transparent shirt and black bra as he took in the rest of her. She was covered in mud and there were blood splatters on her shirt, her left sleeve was torn all the way down and stained in blood from a nasty looking cut running down the length of her arm, her right cheek had a deep looking scrap across it, her knuckles were bloody and cut up, she smelt of vomit, and looked like she had been crying. A lot.

"Naomi what happened?" Gaara demanded but instead of answering she latched onto him in a tight hug.

"Gaara!" She exclaimed and clung to him tightly; burying her face in his neck. "I'm so sorry I just didn't know where else to go." She muttered.

Gaara blinked in confusion but placed one arm around her to comfort her while swinging the door shut with the other. He placed the other arm around her as well and just held her. It felt odd, he wasn't used to the whole hugging thing but he found it strangely enjoyable. He liked feeling her body flush against his and her breath on his neck. Strangely enough he wasn't at all concerned about her getting him wet and muddy or that she smelt like throw up, he was content with keeping her in his arms and what he was concerned about was what happened to her.

"What happened Naomi?" Gaara asked again and slowly detached her from him so he could look at her.

"I... I ran away." She admitted and before Gaara could ask why she sneezed.

Gaara took in her appearance again and once again his attention was drawn to her transparent top. He felt the heat rise to his face while he stared at the cloth clinging to the black and lacy bra underneath and her pale breasts shimmering under the moisture on her skin and fabric. He mentally smacked himself to snap out of his staring. Now was definitely not the time for him to be checking her out, she was in some type of trouble and greatly upset.

"You can explain later, you need to get into something dry." He stated as he ripped his eyes away from her chest.

Naomi didn't move and Gaara sighed before grabbing her hand and leading her to his room. Naomi let him lead her there and then stood in the center of his room while he went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of basket ball shorts and an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt.

"Go into the bathroom, take a shower, and put these on. Just leave your wet clothes in there." He ordered while nodding to the attached bathroom.

Naomi nodded slowly and did as he said. She took the clothes from him and headed in there. When she looked in the mirror she frowned at herself. No wonder Gaara looked so shocked, she looked horrible: bloody, muddy, hurt, wet, smelt like vomit; it was gross. She shook her head and started the shower.

Gaara waited patiently for Naomi to get out of the shower, he sat on his bed while he waited and tried to figure out what would make her want to run away. He supposed she could have gotten into a fight with her mother but why was she bleeding? He heard the shower shut off and a few minutes later Naomi came out in his clothes while drying her hair with a towel. Gaara looked at the cuts on her again and directed her to the bed before heading into the bathroom himself and grabbing some bandages.

"What's the matter with you? Why are you being so kind!" The mini devil demanded; appearing on his shoulder.

"...She came to me for help." Gaara answered in all honesty he couldn't really explain why he wanted to help her so bad but she ran to him and now he wanted to do what he could to help and he couldn't fight the compulsion to do so.

"That's right, she came to you in her troubled time and now you must show her how much you care for her!" The angel declared; appearing on his other shoulder.

"I never said I was doing that. I just... want to help my friend." He responded. "It has nothing to do with my supposed feelings for her." He added sharply.

"Well if you are so set on helping her then we can use this to our advantage." The devil stated thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Gaara and the angel demanded.

"She'll feel like she's in your debt even more and feel obligated to make it up to you. You can get her to do anything you want..." It explained with a perverted grin.

Gaara's memory flashed back to another one of _those_ dreams he had about her and flushed. In that dream he got her to do whatever he wanted and things turned _interesting_... "We're not going there." The angel snapped at the devil and Gaara snapped out of his memory.

"Bugger off you two. I'm not going to try anything on her and I'm not going to 'show her how much I care'." He told them and they shrugged poofing away.

"We'll see." They both stated as they poofed away.

"I must be loosing my mind." Gaara muttered and headed out of the bathroom with the bandages.

Naomi was staring blankly at the floor until she heard Gaara approach and then looked up when he was in front of her. She stared at the bandages in his hands and looked down at her arm and knuckles. The pain wasn't really registering in her mind yet.

"Give me your arm." Gaara ordered and he started to take care of that one first and then her hands. Lastly he turned to the cut on her cheek and put some ointment on it and then a bandage.

The faintest blush made its way onto Naomi's face as Gaara cupped her cheek. It felt odd for him to be taking care of her but she still felt too detached to feel all that embarrassed about the whole thing.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" Gaara asked when he was finished.

Naomi looked down at her lap. "Like I said... I ran away..." She muttered.

"Why?"

"...I couldn't take it anymore... I got in a fight with that woman and I just... I had enough..." She answered.

"What did you fight about?" He continued to press and began to note the anger returning to Naomi's face.

"S-she... that woman..." She began and started shaking again as the rage boiled over once more. She leapt off the bed in anger and began to pace back and forth in agitation. "That no good bitch cheated on my father!" She yelled.

Gaara remained silent as he watched Naomi fume. He somehow thought it would be best (and safest) if he didn't open his mouth and just let her talk. So he looked on and waited for her to finish explaining.

"I mean full on cheating! I came home and found her fucking her boss in our livingroom!" Naomi continued and began ringing her hands while she paced. "How could she do that!" She demanded; rounding on Gaara. "She just- after everything she's done she just turns around and- I can't believe her!" She yelled.

Gaara stared at her. She was getting more worked up over her mother's actions then what would be normal. What she said reoccurred to him; "after everything she's done". It dawned on him about what was wrong and he finally opened his mouth to speak. "...You're taking her unfaithfulness to your father personal aren't you?" He asked.

"Of course I am! After all that shit she's put me through! She's made me suffer my whole life because dad cheated on her! Then she turns around and! She just turns around and starts screwing her boss! How could she do that! How could she betray my dad! How... HOW COULD SHE BETRAY ME!" She screamed tears starting to pour down her cheeks. "AFTER EVERYTHING SHE'S DONE TO ME! AFTER ALL THE SHIT I TOOK FROM HER! SHE JUST-" Naomi stopped yelling and fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands while she cried.

Gaara watched her cry unsure. He started to stand up and go to her but stopped and sat back down. Comforting was really not something he had any idea how to do.

"I'm loosing it Gaara..." She muttered as she sobbed. "It was just too much... I couldn't take it. We fought, she hit me- that's how I got the cut on my face.. I just lost it. I screamed that I had enough and left. I just kept running... I cut myself on a fence. I ended up running all the way to Naruto's neighborhood... my mind is breaking Gaara, I can feel it..." She muttered as she shook and cried. "I finally snapped... It was too much and I lost it... there were these guys... they tried to help me... I attacked them Gaara! One just put his hand on my shoulder and I went ballistic! I beat the shit out of two innocent guys for touching my shoulder! I just went into a blind rage over almost nothing... when he touched me... it just triggered back the rage I felt for that woman touching me and... I just attacked the both of them... I'm horrible.. my knuckles: I kept punching a brick wall and screaming... I've- I've finally had a mental breakdown... I keep crying, screaming, I can't think straight, I'm not feeling pain, I keep blowing up in rage... Gaara what do I do?" She sobbed and looked up at him through her tears.

Gaara stared at her and rubbed the back of his neck while he thought before he got up and knelt down in front of her. He took her by the hands and pulled her to her feet. He walked backwards until he bumped into the bed and sat down; pulling her down with him and into his arms.

"The first thing is to try to calm down." He muttered while he held her. "You need to calm down and relax." He explained.

"H-how can I calm down? My mind and emotion's they're going haywire. I can't I-" She argued getting agitated again and trying to get up but Gaara restrained her; keeping her close to him.

"You have to relax. Breath deeply and slowly. You have to relax and let it all out calmly." He answered. Naomi sniffled and buried her face in his neck again as she started to cry again. Gaara sighed and started rubbing her back and stroking her hair; he assumed that's how you comforted someone; at least that's how it seemed to work in the movies.

"I'm so sorry Gaara. I always seem to be causing you trouble." She muttered while she cried.

"Don't worry about it." He responded.

"I shouldn't have come... I just didn't know where else to go... I remembered you said you'd be there to help me when I snapped and I... I just... I wanted to be with you..."

Gaara froze in surprise at that. Out of all of the people she could have gone to she came to him? She wanted to come to him. She wanted to be with him... It suddenly felt like his insides were doing the Congo and his heart started pounding. He almost smiled but then his mind gave him another mental slap. She was upset right now. She came to him in need. Now was really not the time to be feeling happy.

"I did promise that.." He muttered as he remembered what she was talking about. "And I'll keep that promise." He added.

"Thank you..." She muttered and held him tighter. "I couldn't ask for a better friend..." She added.

Gaara's happy high came back down and he frowned. _Friend_, she just thought about him as a friend. A close friend sure but it was nothing to get worked up about.

"I... I know its a lot to ask but... can I stay here?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah..." He decided.

"Thank you..." Naomi muttered and closed her eyes, she still felt like her mind and emotions were going crazy but she felt so drained now.

Gaara continued to hold Naomi and after awhile she seemed to have completely calmed down and her breathing was in a deep regular rhythm. He looked down at her and found that she had fallen asleep on him. Carefully he moved her off of him, laid her down on his bed and covered her. It was best for her to just sleep for now.

Once he had finished doing that he went back into the bathroom and grabbed her clothes, he took her cellphone out of the pocket and set it on his desk then tossed the clothes into his hamper. He took his hamper downstairs and into the laundry room; starting a load of clothes. After that he went into the kitchen to get himself something to eat.

"Wonder how Temari and Kankuro will take it." He muttered; he figured they'd want to help her too but didn't know about how they'd feel about harboring a runaway. "She'll go home eventually, once she's got her head together." He added thoughtfully. An urgent knock on the door snapped him out of his musing and he looked up. "What now?" He muttered and went to the door.

Gaara looked through the peek hole before answering this time and found it to be Megumi at the other end. She looked frantic. He knew exactly what this was about and composed himself to handle it. He opened the door and looked at her curiously.

"Megumi?" He asked surprised.

"Gaara, I'm so sorry to bother you but have you seen Naomi?" She asked urgently.

"Not since school. Why?" He answered in seeming curiosity.

"She ran away! We can't find her anywhere. I've been to all of her friends' houses and no one's seen her! I thought for sure she'd come to you..." She explained and started ringing her hands worriedly.

"Why'd she run away?" Gaara demanded in concern.

"I have no idea! Mom said they had gotten into an argument and Naomi blew everything out proportion and then took off. I know she's run away in the past but she's always gone to a friend's house. Where could she have gone? This is a big city, it's dangerous." She answered.

"What did they argue about?" He asked curiously (he also wondered what excuse her mother could have given).

"Mom didn't say but those two can fight over anything under the sun. I don't know what to do. Dad's already gone to the police and mom's called her cell like 10 times but she won't answer."

"She always comes back when she's calmed down right?" Gaara asked in concern.

"Yeah but... she hasn't ran away in years. She's gotten a lot better in straightening herself out. I know her now, it would have taken something big to get her worked up to run again. I'm so worried, I have no idea how long it will take her to calm down and what it's all about. What if she leaves town? Where could she have gone?" She continued.

"You'll find her. If she always comes back then she'll be back. Besides you have the police looking for her too. It'll be fine." Gaara tried to comfort while putting on a mask of concern and worry himself.

"I'm so sorry to bother about this Gaara..."

"No it's ok... Keep me updated on what's going on..." He answered and looked at the ground. "Let me know as soon as you find anything out..." He added trying his best to sound worried.

"I will. I'm gonna keep looking I guess.." She muttered and turned and left.

When she was gone Gaara headed back up to his room. He was going to have to keep acting concerned and confused now too. He knew the rest of his friends were going to be freaking out at school and he'd have to play along.

When he got to his room he found Naomi still asleep so he wandered over to his desk to keep himself busy. He glanced at her phone and saw that her mother indeed called her several times and so had her father and Megumi, there were also calls from Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata and swarms of text messages from all her friends; the most being from Neji. He frowned when he saw she had 15 text messages from him. However a smirk formed onto his face as he thought about it.

"She came to me not you." He stated as he smirked. He shook his head to snap out of his smugness and started working on trying to write a new song for the band while he waited for Naomi to wake up.

Naomi blinked her eyes open; she felt utterly exhausted both physically and mentally. She blinked at the comforter and pillows she was laying on in confusion; not recognizing them at first. However her mind kicked back on again and she remembered everything that happened and where she was. She sat up slowly and looked around; she looked over at Gaara and saw him sitting at his desk working on something.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously as she sat up.

Gaara glanced over his shoulder to look at her. "Trying to work on a new song." He answered and turned his chair around so he could look at her directly. "Here's your phone by the way." He added and tossed it to her. "There's a hell of a lot of phone calls and texts on it. Everyone know's what's up." He continued.

Naomi looked over at the phone and looked through all the texts, calls, and voicemails. She didn't respond to any of them and just shut her phone off. "Didn't think it would take that long." She muttered not really surprised but touched about their concern.

"Your sister also came by looking for you." He added.

"She did?" Naomi asked mildly surprised.

"She seemed frantic and like she was ready to start crying. She's really worried about you." He answered.

"...Did you tell her where I was?"

"No."

"Thank you."

Gaara turned back to what he was doing and Naomi stared at the floor in thought. Now that she had calmed down a little she did feel guilty for running; she clearly at least worried her sister and friends. However, she just couldn't get passed what her mother did, it still filled her with rage and she refused to return to where that woman was.

After awhile they heard Temari and Kankuro get home and Naomi stared at Gaara's door. "Have you told them I'm here?" She asked curiously.

"Not yet no. I'll bring it up later... I'm not sure how they'll take to harboring a runaway." He answered.

"Oh... I can leave... if its too much trouble..." She replied; looking down.

"No, you're staying here until you're ready to go home. Even if I have to hide you from them." He answered and Naomi smiled a little.

"Thank you." She muttered.

"Hey Gaara, are you home?" Temari shouted from downstairs.

"What?" Gaara shouted back.

"I need to talk to you." She shouted back and Naomi could hear her head up the stairs.

Quickly she got up and hid under his bed; she figured it'd be best for her to stay hidden until after he spoke to them about her staying here. A seconds later and Temari knocked on the door before entering.

"What is it Temari?" Gaara demanded.

"...Did you... did you hear about Naomi? Shikamaru told me..." She began hesitantly.

"...I heard... Megumi came by hoping to find her..." He answered; staring at the ground.

"Do you know what happened? No one knows why she ran."

"No... I don't know anything..." He responded.

"I hope she's ok..." Temari muttered concerned.

"So do I." Gaara admitted.

"What could have made her run away?" She thought out loud.

"She's got a bit of a dysfunctional family." Gaara admitted thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I got that vibe at dinner, but still, it doesn't seem like her to run away."

"Megumi said she's run away in the past, but she always goes to a friend's house and comes home when she calms down.."

"But she's not at her friends'... Where could she have gone or is going?"

"I wish I knew..." Gaara muttered quietly.

Temari looked at him sympathetically and walked over to him. "I'm sure she'll be ok." She stated comfortingly. Gaara nodded and Temari placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you care about her, but don't worry; she's a smart girl and will come to her senses soon, then she'll be back." She stated.

"I don't..." Gaara tried to argue but just fell silent. "I want to be alone..." He muttered.

"Alright." Temari replied and turned to leave. "Talk to me or Kankuro if you need to." She stated as she left.

When she was gone and had been gone for awhile Naomi crawled back out from under his bed. "You should be an actor Gaara." She stated as she crawled out.

Gaara shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his desk. For awhile Gaara just worked at his desk and Naomi laid on his bed in silence, trying to get her thoughts together but she was still having trouble thinking straight. By midnight Gaara turned away from his desk and looked at her. "You should try to sleep more." He stated.

"...Can you... lay down with me while I try...?" She asked hesitantly.

"...Fine." Gaara agreed and started taking his clothes of to get into his pjs before coming back over to the bed and slipping into it with her. Naomi stared breifly as his pjs consisted of nothing but a pair of boxers but she mentally tried to shrug it off and kept her face from heating up. She was glad that she wasn't so screwed up in the head that she could still be affected by him.

"Thanks." Naomi muttered and snuggled up to him; wrapping her arm around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

Gaara stared at her confused and shocked by her action. He also started to faintly blush as he felt her snuggle against him; she wasn't wearing her bra. He looked off to the side while trying to ignore his blush and his heart suddenly starting to pound. He could not understand why she made his body react this way; everything about her made him feel so strange; physically, mentally, and emotionally.

After a short while Naomi fell asleep and a long while later Gaara finally drifted off into a light slumber as well. He normally could barely sleep at all and only rarely tried to get a full night's rest since it seemed so pointless yet tonight he had no problem sleeping. He felt very comfortable and content with Naomi next to him and snuggling him that he had no problem sleeping at all and got a good night's rest for a change.

"Oi, Gaara!" Kankuro called; knocking on his door.

Gaara and Naomi snapped their eyes open when they heard a knock on the door. Both froze in surprise when they found themselves cuddling each other. Naomi blushed darkly and Gaara faintly. Naomi opened her mouth to say something but then remembered what woke them up and dove under the covers to hide.

"Hey Gaara." Kankuro called as he opened the door.

"What?" He demanded.

"So, I know we haven't always been close and everything but I am your older brother and you can come to me about anything." He stated while seeming to have trouble keeping a straight face.

"What are you babbling about?" Gaara demanded.

"See, I was doing laundry this morning and found your clothes already in the dryer; so being the good older brother I am, I went to fold your clothes for you. Guess what I found?" He continued.

"What?" Gaara demanded in dread; knowing full well what he was talking about now.

Kankuro held up a black lacy bra and a matching pair of underwear. "Do I want to know why this was in your dirty clothes; as well as a girl's school uniform?" He asked grinning widely.

"Shit." Gaara muttered and Naomi (who was peeking out from under the covers blushed scarlet and let out a squeak in surprise.

Kankuro stared at the bed in shock; hearing the squeak coming from the odd bundle of blankets next to Gaara. He stared at Gaara in just his boxers and now to the squeaking lump. A giant grin spread across his face and he leaned against the door frame while snickering. "You sly dog Gaara." He grinned.

"Get out!" Gaara yelled at him and Kankuro ducked out of the room laughing.

Gaara got up and slammed the door behind him. When he turned back around he found Naomi's head poking out of the blanket. She was blushing darkly. "How did those end up in your laundry?"

"I washed them with my clothes last night." He answered. "...I forgot about them..." He muttered.

"And of course Kankuro had to think _that_..." She muttered.

"He didn't realize it was you though." Gaara commented thoughtfully. "So... I can either straighten this out or pretend I actually slept with some random chick..." He muttered.

"You need to tell them about me eventually though..." Naomi responded.

"Yeah... and I rather not have to lie about something like that; it'll be too much work." He agreed. "Not quite how I imagined breaking it to them but..." He muttered.

"Should I wait here?"

"Yeah, I'll be back."

"Ok." Naomi responded and Gaara headed out of his room after throwing on a pair of pants.

"Kankuro." Gaara stated with a glare when he entered the living room.

Kankuro jumped and stopped retelling Temari about what happened when Gaara entered. "Oh hey man." He stated when he saw him.

"Give me the clothes." He stated; seeing Naomi's uniform and undergarments on the coffee table between his siblings while they gossiped.

"Gaara!" Temari snapped. Gaara opened his mouth to explain but she cut him off.

"Who is that girl in your room?" She demanded; placing her hands on her hips. "I thought you liked Naomi, who is she?" She demanded.

"...it was Naomi." He admitted.

"Wait what!" They both exclaimed in shock.

"You slept with her!" Kankuro exclaimed in shock.

"I thought she ran away." Temari stated in confusion.

"I did." Naomi stated from the archway and they all turned to stare at her in surprise. "I ran away and Gaara let me stay here..." She muttered staring at her feet.

"And we didn't have sex. Her clothes were ruined so I lent her mine while I washed them." Gaara explained before shooting a glare at Temari.

"So you two were just cuddling or what?" Kankuro asked confused.

"I fell asleep on him." Naomi answered.

"Why didn't you tell us she was here?" Temari demanded; rounding on Gaara.

"Naomi needed to calm down first before I was going to start explaining anything and I didn't know how you'd react to it."

"If you don't want me here... I can go..." Naomi spoke up.

"No, you can stay. Gaara should have known we'd have no problem with it and told us right away." Temari answered.

"Why did you run?" Kankuro asked curiously.

"...A fight with my mo- a fight with my father's wife turned pretty bad and I had enough." She answered.

Temari and Kankuro looked confused and Kankuro opened his mouth to ask her to elaborate but Temari stomped on his foot. "I understand." She stated; she'd get Gaara to tell them in detail what happened later.

"Uh, here's your clothes." Kankuro stated awkwardly and handed them back to Naomi.

"How'd you get injured?" Temari asked concerned; she had noticed the torn sleeve and now she saw all the injuries on her.

"Accidental self infliction." She answered as she looked down at her bandaged arm and hands. "Gaara already took care of them so it'll be alright."

"Alright well if you're going to be staying here for awhile I think you need some more clothes." Temari stated thoughtfully as she looked at the one outfit in Naomi's hands and clothes of Gaara's she was currently wearing.


	7. Acting Normal

Alrighty here is chapter 7 to Behind Blue Eyes! Yeah couldn't really think of a catchy title for this chapter. Oh well. So this chap still gots a lot of angst but there's plenty of humor in it as well! Lots of Sand Sibling love! Hope you all enjoy and I'll try to update soon!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor the songs used/referenced in this chapter. I only own my ideas and made up characters.

* * *

Gaara sighed moodily as he followed his sister around the mall. "Why am I here again?" He demanded as he reluctantly followed her into Tilly's.

"Well she needs clothes. She's been with us two days. I mean you can't exactly lend her bras and underwear and my bras would be too big. Plus I'm not too keen on sharing underwear. Just saying..." She stated as she headed to the girl's half of the store.

"Too much info Temari." Gaara grumbled. "I know why we're shopping; I meant why do I have to be here while you do it?" He demanded.

"Because this is your mess." She answered simply and continued on as he opened his mouth to retaliate. "Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to have her stay with us and like helping her but this is your problem. You told her she could stay without consulting me or Kankuro, you lied to her sister, and the three of us lied to the police acting off of your actions. She's your responsibility." She explained.

"And as my responsibility I should be home keeping an eye on her. Not stuck here while you shop." He retorted.

"Kankuro can keep an eye on her." She retorted. "Look part of your responsibility is to look normal. You can't act as if you know something. You already are a creepy shut-in in the first place but you do have to leave the house. You have to play like everything is fine. Thus you bitching about your big sis forcing you to go shopping with her. It's completely normal for the two of us!" She explained before going through the selection of jeans.

Gaara grumbled under his breath. Yeah he saw her point, he needed to act like nothing was up but he could think of tons of ways to do that without having to go shopping. His real test would come at school tomorrow. He sighed irritably as he watched his sister browse through the pants with a grin. Figures she'd enjoy shopping. Even if it was shopping for a runaway they were harboring.

"You're enjoying this too much." He stated then grumbled. "And I still don't see why I have to be here." He added stubbornly.

"Lighten up would you? Man you're such a kill joy." She laughed as she picked out a few pairs of jeans in the right size.

"And what part of this is fun exactly?"

"All of it, if you weren't such a grouch."

"What's fun about hiding a teenage girl in my bedroom?" He demanded and a grin split across her face.

"Wweelll little brother a lot of things could be fun about that, but let's not have _that_ discussion in public. It's indecent." She laughed and he scowled realizing what she meant.

"Shut up." He hissed and she just laughed.

"Besides we set up the guestroom for her to sleep in remember? She just likes to hang out in your room with you during the day." She stated. "Though you're right, Kankuro's idea of having you break into her house and steal some of her stuff for her would have been way more fun than shopping." She laughed and wandered over to the tops.

"Oh yeah, adding that to my new list of criminal activities would have been a blast." He muttered sarcastically.

He wasn't going to go back on his promise to Naomi but he wished he had thought about all the trouble it would have caused before he agreed to let her stay. It was a major hassle and he wasn't sure what to do with her. He had no experience in this area and had no idea how to comfort her or help her out of her current mental state. He hoped if he just let her be and acted as some form of structure for her then she'd straighten herself out and decide to go home on her own. He also hoped that happened quickly.

Gaara didn't mind having her in the house; he found her presence to be rather comforting in fact. He just wasn't sure how to handle her. She was either sleeping, silent, or fuming and her moods changed rapidly. He generally opted for staying silent (seemed to be the safest) but felt like he should be trying to comfort her somehow; he just didn't know how. He did however find it odd (and slightly irritating) having her around him constantly. He was definitely not used to having someone around him 24/7 and that was taking some getting used to. He felt like he was stuck with a living shadow. A moody, depressed shadow that he had no idea what to do with. He couldn't decide which analogy he found more fitting, a depressed, moody shadow or a sad lost puppy. Either way he didn't know how to handle it.

"Earth to Gaara." Temari called pulling him out of his musing.

"What?" He demanded.

"You know her better than I do. What kind of clothes does she like to wear?" She asked; gesturing to the various tops around them.

"You expect me to pay attention to what kind of style she wears?" He retorted.

"Considering how much you stare at her yes." She retorted knowingly.

Gaara scowled and looked away, ignoring the heat rising to his face. "Whatever." He snapped.

"Hey she might be an oblivious idiot but I am not. I see you staring at her when she's not looking. Constantly." She teased. "Sometimes you stare at her with this big puppy eyes…" She started teasingly; and grinning widely.

"There are no puppy eyes." Gaara spat venomously.

"You know you can admit you like her." She responded.

"I don't."

"It's alright you know, even you can be happy." She stated softly. "But your face might crack if you smile too much so be careful." She added teasingly; unable to resist.

"Just shut up." He hissed; not dignifying her with even looking at her.

Temari laughed and turned back to the clothes she was looking at. "And sometimes you stare at her differently…" She continued and glanced to see he was reluctantly still listening to her. "Sometimes you stare at her with such an intense gaze I half expect her clothes to burst into flames." She laughed and his scowl darkened even further.

"Seriously, stop talking." He hissed in pure irritation.

"Man I love teasing you." She laughed and decided on some metal militia shirts figuring they were pretty close to her style. She also grabbed a hoody from a nearby rack.

"Sometimes I wish you were still terrified of me." Gaara grumbled as he followed her to her new destination.

"Nope. Now I have to make up for the years of sibling bonding we missed out on."

"You really don't have to." He muttered in a voice almost hinting at pleading her not to.

"So last things on the list." Temari stated as she stared at the bras and underwear. She glanced at them all and then glanced at Gaara, opening her mouth to ask for his opinion.

"She likes lace." He stated before she could even ask and turned his back on that section.

Temari blinked and grinned. "And just how do you know that?" She asked teasingly.

"Kankuro showed you what was in the dryer didn't he?" He responded as if it was obvious. "And… I've been in her room… she doesn't put her clothes away." He admitted reluctantly.

"Alright then." She grinned and looked over them all. "Soo… does that go just for bras or underwear too? How about thongs?" She teased and Gaara sent her a withering look before heading to the door.

"I'm waiting outside of the store." He snapped and stormed off away from her constant teasing.

Gaara sat down in one of the chairs near the store and sighed irritably. What was it about siblings loving to make your life hell? He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling moodily. His thoughts drifted to school. How long could he keep acting like he knew nothing? He knew Naruto and Kiba wouldn't be able to notice anything they were far too dense and so were some of the others but what if one of the smarter ones noticed? Like Shikamaru? Nothing could get passed that kid. Or worse, what if Neji noticed he knew something and interfered? He half wanted Neji to know, wanted him to know he was taking care of her and she had come to him. He entertained himself with ideas of Neji's reaction when he finally found out she had been hiding out in his bedroom the entire time. He smirked as he thought about that.

"Gaara?" A voice asked surprised and he looked to the source of it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked; surprised to find Sasuke at the mall; he detested shopping almost as much as he did.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." He stated before shrugging. "Itachi made me run out to grab a few things. He's still dealing with a frantic and hysterical Megumi freaking out left and right so apparently that means he's too busy to do his own damn shopping." He grumbled and nodded to the bags he had with him.

"Temari forced me out of the house to go shopping with her." He stated and nodded to the store. "Said it would 'do me some good to get me out of the house'." He added for good measure.

"She thinks you're going to become even more of a shut-in with the whole Naomi thing?" He asked and Gaara shrugged in response. Sasuke remained silent for a moment before speaking up. "Not that I care or anything but how are you taking it?" He asked reluctant to voice his concern for his friend.

Gaara shrugged in disinterest. "Fine." He responded.

"You're a liar."

"Like you're not worried about her too?" He retorted.

"…Yeah I am…" He admitted reluctantly.

"Alright I'm done." Temari stated as she came up to the two. "Hey Sasuke." She greeted and he nodded.

"Can we leave now?" Gaara demanded bluntly.

"Fine. Kill joy." She muttered and Gaara stood up.

"See ya." He waved to Sasuke and left with his sister to head to the car. Sasuke watched them walk off curiously. _'They seemed a little strange.' _He thought and then shrugged and assumed it was nothing. Gaara was probably affected more by Naomi running away then he was letting on and she was probably failing at trying to make him feel better.

The car ride back was silent and Gaara was glad Temari seemed to be bored with teasing him now. "What did Sasuke want?" She asked curiously as they drove and Gaara shrugged. "Well I think we acted pretty normal. Think he suspected anything?"

"Doubt it." He responded.

When they arrived back at the house Temari handed Gaara the stuff she bought for Naomi and headed to put her own stuff in her room. Gaara blinked at the bags before searching for Kankuro. He found him watching TV in the living room.

"Where's Naomi?"

"Up in your room I think. She's been listening to your angsty music all day." He stated.

Gaara shook his head and then headed up to his room. Sure enough he found her there. She was currently listening to his Slipknot collection while writing in a notebook Kankuro must have given her (seeing as he didn't recognize it as one of his own) and sitting on his bed. He wondered if her constantly changing moods were affected by the music she had been listening to the past couple of days. It seemed to make her feel a little better so Gaara let her have access to his music. Right now she was listening to Slipknot and looked pretty irritable while she wrote so his theory of music affecting mood seemed good so far.

"Hey." He greeted when he went over to the bed.

"Hey." She responded; glancing up from what she was working on. "I remember you saying you were having trouble coming up with new songs for your band. Here." She stated handing him the notebook with what was clearly a song she had been writing.

Gaara took the notebook from her while handing her the bag of clothes. "Temari picked them out." He stated as he gave them to her then looked over the song.

~~~Alone by Bullet for My Valentine~~~

**Yeah!**

**No more of taking this hatred from you**  
**You make me feel dead when I'm talking to you**  
**You take me for granted when I'm not around**  
**So burn all your bridges**  
**'cause I'm not going down (down)**

**This time I will be heard**  
**I'm not gonna burn**  
**It's funny how the table, how the table turns**

**You fake (fake!) your damnation**  
**You pray (pray) for salvation**  
**'cause your heart is made of stone**  
**You can die and rot alone**

**I hope you're unhappy and hurting inside**  
**I want you to choke when you swallow your pride**  
**Lay in your coffin and sleep with your sins**  
**Give me the nails and I'll hammer them in**

**Right now**

**This time you won't be heard**  
**You are gonna burn**  
**It's funny how the table, how the table turns**

**You fake (fake!) your damnation**  
**You pray (pray) for salvation**  
**'cause your heart is made of stone**  
**You can die and rot alone**

**You fake (fake) your damnation**  
**You pray (pray) for salvation (salvation)**  
**'cause your heart is made of stone**  
**You can die and rot alone**

**Whoa oh oh oh**

**_[x8]_**

**This time you won't be heard**  
**You are gonna burn**  
**Its funny how the table, how the table turns**

**You fake (fake) your damnation**  
**You pray (pray) for salvation(salvation)**  
**Cause your heart is made of stone**  
**You can die and rot alone**

**You fake (fake) your damnation**  
**You pray (pray) for salvation (salvation)**  
**Cause your heart is made of stone**  
**You can die and rot alone**

**You can die and rot alone**  
**Just die and rot alone**

**This time you won't be heard _[x3]_**

Gaara read over the song a few times. It was actually pretty damn good. He could feel her rage pouring from it. It was definitely a song wrote from her heart. A couple lines brought questions to his mind like if she was so set on turning the tables on her "mother" why was she still running instead of being there, confronting her and telling her family what had really happened. He wanted to ask her that but decided it was best if he just stayed silent. He read over the song again and a beat began to form in his mind to go along with the lyrics.

"It's really good." He admitted when he looked away from it. He was surprised to find her staring into the bag of clothes in horror. She had already pulled out several shirts and the jeans so he assumed he knew what was causing her distraught. "What?" He asked; worried just what Temari had bought her.

Naomi looked at the bag of undergarments. Most of them she could stand, standard generic bras and underwear, some plaid, some with poke-a-dots, lace, even some satin by the looks of it, and other various designs. She could live with those, they were decent. No what had caused her embarrassment was the blood red satin and black laced bra with a matching thong glaring back at her like the evil thing it was.

"What the hell! There's a like a set of lingerie in here!" She exclaimed.

Gaara sighed and placed his face in his palm. "Temari…." He groaned in annoyance.

Naomi blushed scarlet at the lingerie set in front of her and dropped the bag to the floor in her embarrassment. To her extreme horror the monstrosities came tumbling out of the bag and into plain sight. Gaara stared down at the matching set in surprise.

"Hey it's in your favorite colors too." The mini devil stated; appearing on his shoulder and staring down at it as well.

'_Not now…' _He mentally groaned as his insanities made their appearance.

The devil gazed at him before smirking knowingly. "Well, I know what you're imaging right now." He chuckled before suddenly being tackled by the mini angle.

"Silence!" It shouted at him and turned to Gaara. "Erase your mind of such impure thoughts this instant!" It ordered and Gaara wondered why he had such a violent angle half of his conscious.

Naomi blushed as she noted Gaara was still staring at the undergarments and she quickly stuffed them back in the bag along with the rest of the clothes. She'd have to go thank Temari for them… for all of them but _that. _She glanced at Gaara and decided the subject needed changing.

"Will you use the song?" She asked.

Gaara stopped watching his insanities try to kill each other and turned to look at her. Her question processed in his brain and he nodded. "If you don't mind." He answered.

"No go ahead. I needed to vent some anger out and that was the result so figured you might like it." She stated and he nodded again.

Gaara sat down beside her and she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them while she thought about something. "Megumi keeps calling…" She stated quietly.

"You sister's worried sick about you." Gaara admitted. "Sasuke said she's hysterical." He added; remembering what he had said.

"Sasuke?"

"I bumped into him at the mall. Itachi's trying to help calm your sister down but I guess she's still frantic and gets hysterical easily." He explained.

"…She's more worried about me then my own parents…" She muttered.

"Your dad put a 2000 dollar reward out on you and has the police looking for you. I think he's worried." Gaara responded.

"But _she's_ not. She's only concerned about not letting the truth get out about what she did." She muttered darkly.

Gaara sighed and rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Even the emo prick Sasuke is worried about you." He stated.

"I know…he's called a couple of times too… Naruto's called like 10 times the past two days… Hina calls too…" She stated; staring at the floor.

Gaara nodded, Naruto had even called him to first ask if he knew anything and then to demand to know how he was doing about it. He'd never understand why everyone seemed to think he'd be like this emotional wreck if she really was gone (and not sitting right beside him). He also wondered how he would actually feel if she was indeed gone. He couldn't really decide how it would affect him.

"…I know everyone is worried… I feel bad about it too… I just… I can't go back there…. Not yet… I'm so angry right now and torn up inside that I think… I think I might actually try to kill her if I see her right now… That scares me…" She admitted; the thought of killing someone had ran through her mind before, back when she was younger and angrier. They were just thoughts though and not something she'd actually ever do. But this, she was boiling with rage and she still remembered attacking those innocent boys just for touching her. If she couldn't control that rage she didn't even want to imagine the rage she'd go into upon seeing that woman right now. She didn't think she could control herself or stop herself from doing something rash and dangerous. All of that really frightened her.

"It'll take time to calm down." He commented knowing that soon her angry mood would turn to a depressed one.

"I think… I'm going to go lay down..." Naomi muttered and stood up to go into the guestroom and sleep; taking her bag of clothes with her.

Gaara flopped onto his back on the bed and sighed. For awhile he just stared at the ceiling but then glanced at the notebook and sat up; grabbing the pen she had been using and starting to make notes about the music that would go along with the lyrics.

* * *

When Monday rolled around Naomi was woken up by the others getting up and getting ready for the day. Gaara was getting ready to go to school and Temari and Kankuro were getting ready for their college classes. She lied in bed and stared at the wall until Temari poked her head into the room. "Hey, we're getting ready to head out. Help yourself to any food and watch TV or listen to music or something. Do whatever to keep yourself busy and umm I'll see ya when I get home from class." She stated and Naomi nodded.

"Alright." She stated and paused. "Thanks again Temari."

"No problem."

Temari left and a few minutes later she heard the front door shut. A couple of minutes later and Gaara stepped into the room. "….Do you need anything before I go?" He asked quietly; rather reluctant to show his concern.

Naomi rolled over so she was facing him. "No, I'm good." She stated and forced a smile onto her face.

"…I'll be back after band practice…" He stated awkwardly. "You can… go into my room if you want… music… books… just don't… go through my stuff." He stated.

"Alright." She agreed; she had to admit if she was in any other mood she'd probably use the chance to snoop a bit but she couldn't be bothered enough to care.

Gaara left and soon she heard the front door shut one more time. She lay in bed for a few more minutes before getting up and taking a shower. After her shower she wandered through the halls of the house. It felt odd to be all by herself in someone else's place, especially one so big. She poked her head into a few rooms and then plopped onto the couch and began watching TV in hopes of being able to pass the day without her thoughts and emotions whirling in her head constantly. It worked somewhat as she watched a Law and Order SVU marathon all day, she was able to calm her brain for awhile through all the senseless television but the shows she was watching did little to improve her mood.

Gaara sighed as he sat at the lunch table. It seemed like the first half of the day dragged on forever. Between dealing with the group and their concern and the teachers curiosity and having to act just like them he was ready to go home. He was even contemplating ditching the rest of the day and going home.

The others soon joined him at the table with their lunches and talk broke out amongst them. He silently watched them while they all talked. They carried on like things were normal but each had visible signs of worry or concern (some much smaller signs then others) regarding their missing friend. The only two he was having a real trouble gauging their reactions on the whole thing was Shino and Sai. They didn't look concerned or worried at all but then with Shino you couldn't tell anything; he was a harder person to read then himself so he guessed he might be a little concerned on the inside at the very least. Sai on the other hand was even more socially retarded then himself and he wandered if he even knew how to feel concern for another friend. He supposed he might, he was learning to become more normal and less socially challenged but he still had a ways to go on understanding emotions and feelings (even the more basic of one's).

Gaara mentally snickered at that thought, he wasn't exactly an expert on those things either and still had a lot to learn but he was nowhere near as bad as that crackpot was. He often wondered if the expression "lived under a rock" was quite literal for the boy. It would explain a few things. That thought made him pause as well and reminded him just how weird some of the people he hung out with really were (himself included of course).

"Hey Gaara are you alright?" Lee asked curiously and the others noticed as well that the silent boy seemed to be off in his own little world- and had been for quite some time.

Gaara stopped questioning the sanity of his friends (and himself) and turned to respond to his question. "Yeah… I didn't want to bother coming to school today." He answered.

"I know what you mean… She's only been here a few months but it doesn't feel right not having Naomi with us." Sakura stated.

"Do you think she's ok wherever she is?" Tenten voiced.

"I think so. She's tough I'm sure she can take care of herself." Kiba responded.

'_No not really, she's a wreck. She'd be screwed if she really was on her own.' _Gaara thought in response but of course stayed silent.

"Where do you think she went?" Choji spoke up.

"Her family and the police haven't spotted her yet. I think she left the city." Ino replied.

"Do you think she would go back to her old town?" Hinata asked curiously.

Gaara looked at her. Still nobody had any clue why she really ran but he knew Hinata knew her home situation better than most of the others. She probably had a better idea of what really happened then the others did.

"Megumi said her father already told the police over there to watch out for her too." Sasuke spoke up. Gaara shifted in his seat as talk continued. He put up with it all once this morning and that was hard enough. He knew Shikamaru's quizzical gaze was on him and he didn't want to slip up. He'd catch it if he did in an instant. He tried to think of a way to excuse himself from the conversation without giving anything away. Well everyone already thought he would be an emotional wreck because of this. Shouldn't be that hard to come up with something, he just needed the right moment.

"I should have stayed with her… It wasn't long after I left that she ran… if I stayed I could of stopped her…" Neji muttered; staring at his food. He hadn't shown it to the others but he was worried sick about her. He wished she would answer his texts; he must have texted her 50 times by now but still no response. He felt guilty, like it was his fault she ran.

Gaara saw his chance and took it. He ignored his little angle insanity telling him not to say what he was about to; reminding him that Neji was his friend. Instead he listened to the devil insanity. Gaara stood up as if he was pissed and glared at Neji.

"You're right. You could have stopped her. But you didn't, you didn't stay with her. She's gone and it's your fault!" He snapped at him. Everyone blinked in surprise at his outburst.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted; shocked by what he had just said.

"That was uncalled for." Tenten snapped at him; glaring as she took in Neji reaction; a combination of being pissed off and hurt.

"It's the truth. He was the last one to see her. He should have known something was up. He is the supposed genius after all. He didn't do anything. She ran and he let her." Gaara hissed at them, then left the table; heading out of the cafeteria.

"What the hell is his problem? It's not Neji's fault she ran away. He didn't make her run." Kiba stated when he was gone.

"But I could of- should of done something." Neji muttered.

Some of the others continued to talk about it, telling the uncharacteristically depressed Neji to ignore the uncharacteristically emotional and angry Gaara's outburst. Sasuke on the other hand looked on to where the red head had just disappeared, a look of mild curiosity in his eyes.

"How could you say that to him!" The mini angel shouted at Gaara now that they were alone in the hallway and heading to his next class.

"It was easy." The devil responded with a shrug.

"Neji is one of your friends! He's already feeling guilty about it and beating himself up about it. How could you say something so cruel to him when you know it's not true! She's not gone she's sitting in your house probably watching TV right now!"

"But the others can't know that. I needed an excuse to leave the conversation before somebody could suspect something." Gaara replied to it.

"There are plenty of other ways you could have done that. You could have up and left silently it would have had the same affect."

"Hey, Neji might be his friend but he's also his rival now. All's fair in love and war." The devil stated calmly. Gaara opened his mouth to make a remark about the love thing but decided not to bother arguing with the crazy two, they never listened.

"I just want to go home." He muttered; tired and slightly impatient.

It was odd, he got annoyed having Naomi around all the time like she was a living shadow but whenever he got away like yesterday at the mall or now he just wanted to be back by her side. He couldn't figure out what the deal was.

"It's simple really. Your personality of 'I'm-an-antisocial-creepy-loner-who-hates-to-be-nice-to-anyone-but-myself-and-keeps-everyone-at-arms-length' is conflicting with your new feels that are developing and you're having trouble dealing with both of them." The angel stated logically.

"What?" Gaara and the devil asked confused.

The angel shook its head. "You're not used to having someone around you all the time. It goes against your personality and you've gone your whole life never being really close to someone; keeping people at arm's length. So now that you have someone close to you you're not sure what to do about it. You get irritated because of your old self but you want to be with her because of your new self." It explained slowly to the two denser ones.

Gaara stared at the little thing while he processed what he had said. It made sense. He then paused and glared at it. "You're just trying to convince me I like her again." He snapped.

"Well that is the major issue. That's why you're getting so conflicted and confused." It stated.

"Whatever." He snapped at it and the bell rang so he headed to his class and the two poofed away with shakes of their heads. He was seriously starting to wonder if he should seek professional help for those two little delusions.

Gaara was so thankful to get to his car after band practice. Due to his comment at lunch the air was pretty tense between Neji and himself and Naruto used his brain for once and opted to remain silent. Sasuke just stayed quiet and observed. Thanks to the extreme silence they cut practice early after working on just a few songs and decided to pick it back up again tomorrow; knowing Neji and Gaara would be over it by then. Gaara also tried to decide when would be the best time to present the new song. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to go about that. Usually they worked together on the songs and on occasion come up with a few each on their own. He could easily make them think he wrote it but he didn't want to take credit for Naomi's work. He also couldn't tell them that it was she who wrote it. Maybe he could wait? He'd wait until after she went back home and then present it and give her the rightful credit for writing it. That is if she went back home relatively quickly. He'd hold on to the song for now then and play it by ear.

When Gaara finally got home he glanced around; trying to figure out where Naomi might be. Kankuro and Temari were still at class so it would just be the two of them for awhile. She wasn't in the living room but there were signs that she had been in there watching TV. He sighed and picked up the sound of music playing upstairs.

"My room it is then." He muttered as he headed upstairs.

Gaara paused outside of his door as he listened to her choice of music today. It was Three Days Grace. "Ah, angsty mood then." He mused. He opened the door and just leaned against the doorframe while he listened to her sing along to Home. She looked like she had been crying again not too long ago. When that song was over she shuffled through the songs and sung along to Bitter Taste. _'So she's angry and depressed.'_ Gaara mused as he waited for her to finish.

When Naomi had tired herself out of singing she sunk to the ground and leaned her back against the bed. "Does the music help?" Gaara decided to ask to let her know he was there.

Naomi jumped in surprise of him being there but nodded. "Singing along lets me get a little frustration out." She answered. He waited for her to say something more. He could tell in her eyes that she was in a talking mood so he prepared to hear her vent. "How was school?" She decided to ask and took to staring at the floor.

Gaara shrugged in response. "The others find it really strange for you not to be there and Neji feels guilty." He answered and decided not to mention what he had said to him.

"For what?"

"He thinks if he had stayed he could have kept you from running."

"That would have just made things worse…" She muttered. Gaara remained silent not sure what else to say. "I feel bad." She muttered as she pulled her legs close to chest again and hugged them to her (a habit Gaara noticed she now developed).

"How?"

She stared at the floor for awhile before answering. "I feel horrible for the trouble I'm causing… All of you guys are worried about me… Neji's feeling guilty when he has no reason to… and my sister… She's so worried about me, we had never really been all that close most our lives then in the past couple of years we get along great and I do this to her… she's frantic and it's all my fault… and my dad…." She sighed heavily and rested her head on her knees staring thoughtfully out of the window. "I wish I had never been born." She muttered. "If I hadn't none of this would have happened… All of you would be carrying on with your lives like normal and not worried over a missing friend, you wouldn't be harboring a run away, things would be peaceful here… and my family… my family never would have been torn apart, my sister would have had a normal and stable environment to grow up in, they all would have been happy, my parent's marriage would never have been destroyed… it all would have been so much better without me…" She spoke sadly.

Gaara sighed as he thought how to respond to that. The devil popped up and told him to remain silent but the angel popped up and told him she needed council and told him what he had to do to help his friend. He listened to the angel this time around. He mentally rolled his eyes at the cheesiness of what he was about to do but went up to her and knelt down in front of her.

"Your right; things would have been different. But…" He started and she turned to look at him. "If you were never born then we would never have met."

"Gay!" The devil shouted at him for the cheesy crap he just spouted.

"Silence you fool!" The angel screamed at the devil and tackled him. "Good job man! Keep going!" It encouraged.

Naomi froze at what he said and a blush made its way onto her cheeks. She smiled and turned her gaze to the ground. "No… I guess we wouldn't have…" She mused. "And that really would have been a shame..." She added; looking back up at him and smiling again. Gaara returned the smile with a tiny one of his own.

"Aww bonding moment! Bonding moment!" The angel cooed.

"Shut up you fruit loop!" The devil shouted as it struggled to get out from under the angel.

"Now kiss her!" It cheered and was smacked upside the head by the devil.

Naomi leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling for awhile lost in her own little world of thoughts. They were briefly related to what Gaara had just said and a small inner her was cheering but her thoughts quickly drifted back to her problems and the issues at hand.

"It's just…" She started and turned her gaze back to her feet. "It's hard…" She continued and Gaara nodded; not sure what else to do but not liking that the cheering up only lasted about a minute. "Lately… I don't know I just don't see the point…" She continued on and Gaara started to frown; not liking where this conversation was going. "…I feel… I feel like everyone would just be better off without me…" She muttered and Gaara's frown worsened while his eyes narrowed. "It's just all I ever do is cause problems for others. I've caused so many people problems…. I always have… No matter what I do I screw up somehow… It's like what's the point of living if all I ever do is cause people problems? I just don't see the point to keep trying if it never ends well. If I was gone everything would be better… I wouldn't cause anyone anymore problems. … Things… would be so much better for everyone if I was dead… I just want to give up…" She finished; squeezing her legs to herself tightly while her eyes watered.

Gaara's fists clenched angrily while he listened to her talk and before he even realized what he was doing he was back on his feet and had slapped her hard across the face. "Don't you dare fucken talk like that ever again!" He shouted at her.

The devil and angel both stopped in mid-wrestle on his shoulder; completely frozen and speechless in shock by what he had just done.

Naomi too sat there in complete shock. She stared at him wide eyed and completely frozen in surprise. Rage from being hit started to bubble inside her but was being subdued by her shock of being hit and also her hurt of it; not the physical stinging but the emotional hurt of _him_ hitting her.

Before she could even start to overcome her shock Gaara gripped her arm tightly and yanked her to her feet. "Do you hear me!" He demanded shaking her slightly. "Don't you _ever_ fucken say you want to kill yourself again!" He hissed; grip tightening. "I've been putting up with your moods for the past few days fine but I'm drawing a line at this! Do you even realize what you were saying! Killing yourself would fix nothing! Yes that woman is a backstabbing bitch but you already knew that before this happened! You knew how cruel she was, she always has been cruel to you so why are you so torn up about what she did? I too had a shitty adult in my life who betrayed me but I never thought about killing myself! You need to get over this, stop letting it affect you so much and get back at her! Take your life back not end it! Suicide is never the answer! It's the most selfish thing you could ever do. You've already said you feel bad about how concerned everyone is now because you ran away. How do you think everyone would feel if you were dead? How do you think I would feel! It wouldn't fix any problems it would make everything ten times worse. It's the coward's way out, it's weak and pathetic. You're not allowed to quit because things suddenly got hard! You're stronger then that! You'll overcome this. You can't walk out on me because you're upset. You're one of my best damn friends so you better fucken believe I'm not going to ever let you get that weak!" He shouted at her and let go of her arm; letting her drop back to the ground as she seemed to be too shocked to remember to stand.

Gaara huffed in anger, turned on his heel, stormed out of his room, and slammed the door behind him; leaving a shocked speechless Naomi on the floor. On the other side of the door Gaara stopped and stared down at his hand. What had he just done? He hit her. He actually hit her. He couldn't believe lost it and hit her in the face.

"What fuck was that!" The angel screamed at him and the devil blinked in surprise by his mouth. "How dare you hit her! How could you?" It continued as Gaara started down the hall and headed downstairs.

"I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking. What she said just pissed me off and I reacted without thinking." He responded to it.

"You have to apologize!" It demanded.

Gaara paused for a moment then continued on downstairs. "Later." He decided.

"What? Why not now?"

"Because he wants her to think about what he said." The devil spoke up.

"What?"

"Being a nice softy like you wanted was getting us nowhere. She needed that scolding, needed to hear what he said." The devil continued.

"He's right. She needed to hear it up front like it is not be coddled. Something in her eyes says what I said got through to her. She'll think about it." Gaara stated.

"Exactly why he doesn't need to apologize." The devil stated in agreement.

"No. I will apologize. Not for yelling at her but for hitting her. She needed the scolding… not me slapping her…" He responded and stared at his hand again.

It had been awhile since he felt guilty for hurting a friend. He usually brushed it off unless he managed to do something serious and then he usually apologized (much later of course). It was odd for him to feel so guilty over a smack. Still he knew it would be better if he waited before he apologized, his words would sink in more if he waited.

Naomi remained slumped on the floor in surprise. One hand was touching her cheek where he hit her and the other she wrapped around herself. She put her hand down and pulled her knees closer to herself again while she stared at the floor. His words were repeating themselves in her head and she just stared blankly at the floor while trying to process everything.

Temari and Kankuro arrived back home from their classes and were surprised to find the house quiet. Temari followed the faint sound of the TV and found Gaara watching TV in the living room moodily. Naomi wasn't in the room however.

"Hey Gaara, where's Naomi?" She asked surprised.

Gaara shrugged before answering. "I don't know. My room maybe." He responded; not taking his eyes off the television.

"You guys have a fight or something?" Kankuro asked as he stepped into the room.

"Sort of." He replied; it wasn't so much of a fight as it was him storming out of the room after blowing up at her.

"What happened?" Temari demanded concerned about what went down.

"I hit Naomi..." He muttered reluctantly.

"What?" Kankuro asked in shock.

"You did what! Why the hell did you do that?" Temari snapped.

"She was in a depressed mood… She started talking and mentioned thinking of killing herself… That just made me blow up at her." He answered.

"So let me get this straight, she opened up to you and vented to you about how she was feeling and you hit her for it!" Temari demanded.

"She wanted to kill herself?" Kankuro asked surprised.

"She said she thought about it, thought it would make everything better. I don't know she just set me off by saying that. I reacted without thinking and I hit her before I even realized what I had done. I yelled at her after that then stormed out of the room."

They paused as they processed what he had said. "What did you yell at her about?" Kankuro decided to ask.

"That it was stupid and selfish. That she needed to get over it and face the woman. She needed to take back her life. Also that… I… wouldn't ever let her do it… reminding her how everyone would feel…. How… I would feel…" He answered though muttered most of the rest of it.

When he had shouted at Naomi he made it come across as merely concern for an important friend of his but now that he had cooled down he wondered if it was something else that set him off. Something he wasn't ready to come to terms with but knew it was there. He also pointedly ignored his "good" insanity's pride in his slow realization.

"Well… she probably needed the scolding…" Kankuro mused thoughtfully while looking his younger brother over.

"But you shouldn't have hit her." Temari scolded.

"I'm aware of that." Gaara responded.

"She really got you that riled up huh?" Kankuro asked with a slight smirk. "Even now you feel guilty for it." He added.

"What's your point?" Gaara demanded.

"Nothing, I'm just commenting on how much this girl has gotten to you." He chuckled and ruffled his little brother's hair before heading to his room to put his school stuff away.

Gaara scowled at his brother's retreating figure before turning to look at Temari who was still staring sternly at him. "What?" He demanded.

"Have you apologized for hitting her yet?" She demanded; placing her hands on her hips.

"No." He responded and directed his attention back to the TV.

"Go apologize then!" She snapped.

"Later." He replied; he was still thinking over how to apologize. Apologizing in general was not easy for him, even when he knew he had to.

"No. Now." She continued.

"I will later."

"Get off your ass and say you're sorry!"

Gaara huffed and got off the couch, he didn't want to listen to Temari bitch until he agreed. She was so damn bossy. "Fine mother." He snapped at her.

"Hey someone needs to be the responsible adult in this house. You and Kankuro wouldn't be able to manage without me." She responded; pleased she got him to do what she wanted.

Gaara sneered and headed out of the room. He knew she was right though. They never did have a proper family situation to grow up in. No parental units to control them, just servants to care for them. Temari was quick to step up and take charge over her younger siblings. It was annoying but even back when he was a festering little ball of hate and she was afraid of him she still managed to take charge in some way and took care of her baby brothers. He had to admit if it wasn't for her, Kankuro and himself would be helpless. As he thought about it she was probably the closest thing to a parent either of them had- more so then their own father, and she wasn't all that older then themselves.

Gaara sighed as he reached his bedroom door. He wondered how much of an effect his words had on her. Would they have made a difference? He hoped they did. He grumbled to himself and opened the door; stepping into his room.

He wasn't all that surprised to see that she had moved off the floor and was now curled up in a ball on his bed; staring fixedly at the opposite wall. He could tell she was awake by the way her body stiffened when the door opened.

"Hey." He finally spoke after a moment of silence.

Naomi glanced over her shoulder at him and then shifted onto her other side so she could see him. She blinked expectantly at him; waiting to see what he wanted.

"I'm sorry about before." He muttered; staring at the floor while he apologized. "I didn't mean to hit you; I reacted to your words without thinking… It happened before I even knew what I was doing. I really wish I hadn't and am sorry…" He finished; wanting to get the apology over with quickly.

Naomi stared at him for a moment before answering. "It's alright… I understand." She answered and he looked up quizzically. "If I were in your position I probably would have done the same. I… was being dumb and saying things I shouldn't have..." She stated and sat up. "You were right to have scolded me like that... I needed to hear what you said…" She continued and touched her cheek where she had been hit earlier. "I needed to feel your anger to snap myself out of my own self pity." She finished.

Gaara remained silent but moved to sit beside her. He took her hand away from her face and replaced it with his own. He frowned slightly as he brushed his thumb across the faint red mark that was left from where he hit her cheek. Quickly he realized what he was doing and removed his hand; opting to stare at the floor and fight to recover his composure. Naomi just blushed faintly but remained silent sitting beside him.

For awhile they just sat in silence and after a bit Temari brought up dinner for them and they ate that too in silence. However after dinner they talked a little until Naomi fell asleep. Gaara let her sleep in his bed instead of carrying her back into the guestroom. Part of it was because he didn't want to have to bother with the effort to do that and part of it was a selfish reason in hoping he could manage to get another good night's rest again. His plan seemed to work as he was able to fall asleep beside her and stay asleep throughout the night.

He was not expecting however to wake up the following morning to find himself clinging to her like a child clung to a teddy bear. He felt the heat rise to his face as he noticed how they were laying. She lay on her stomach; arms under her pillow and face resting to the side away from him (a small amount of drool hitting the pillow) while he himself was laying halfway beside her and halfway on her. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his head and upper torso was lying on her back.

'_How is it we keep cuddling in our sleep!' _He thought in irritation and embarrassment before carefully trying to crawl out of bed without waking her and shutting off his alarm for school before it went off. He stood there watching her sleeping figure for a moment before covering her with the blanket properly and getting ready for school silently.

* * *

As the rest of the week trickled by Naomi began to show visible signs of improvement. She stopped either locking herself in a room or following Gaara around, she spent time watching TV or playing games with Temari and Kankuro, she ate more, she stopped sleeping so much, she even started to help around the house a bit: helping Temari with meals and cleaning the place up a bit while they were all at class. She was feeling like she managed to get a grip back on herself and was feeling a bit like her old self again. She smiled more often now. She even had an occasional thought about returning home soon (though those thoughts were quickly replaced by uncertainty). She knew she had to go home, she couldn't stay with them forever (she was also feeling a bit too cooped up; she itched to go outside and leave the house). Now it was just a matter of trying to get herself together and figuring out how to confront the situation she's been running from.

It was now Thursday evening. Gaara had gone out with some of their friends after band practice (playing his part of trying to seem normal) and she was hanging out with Temari and Kankuro. Temari was studying for an exam on the couch while she watched Naomi kick Kankuro's ass at DDR. DDR they found really cheered her up; to be able to get up and move to a fast beat and challenge herself, it put her in a good mood and they were happy to indulge. Usually Temari played her at DDR and Kankuro took over when they turned to Call of Duty but Temari really needed to study (as she couldn't bring Shikamaru over anymore to help her study) so Kankuro was taking her place.

The three of them were so into the game that they didn't really pay attention when Gaara got home and stepped into the room. Gaara watched them with a raised nonexistent eyebrow. Kankuro was failing epically but Naomi was really good. She probably could really give Naruto a run for his money (with all that energy of his he became quite good at DDR at the arcade). When they had finished their round of songs he decided to make his presence known.

"Failing at videogames again Kankuro?" He mocked as he walked over to the couch.

"Hey I can kick your ass anytime on Call of Duty!" He shouted.

"No you can't. I hold the high score not you." He retorted with a roll of his eyes.

It was then that the three actually turned to look at him and stared in surprise. "What the-" Kankuro started in shock at his little brother's face.

'_Hot!'_ Naomi mentally squealed while blushing faintly.

"You go out with the guys and you come back with piercings?" Temari asked surprised.

The three took in the lip piercing the boy now had as well as a tongue piercing. "Naruto's idea." He stated as he sat down on the couch. "He thought it would look good with the band. He got his ears pierced, another eyebrow piercing so he has two on that side and also a tongue ring. Sasuke got snakebites and Neji wouldn't join in on the 'self mutilation'." He explained and quoted the words "self mutilation" with his fingers as well as it was the noble boy's exact words on the whole thing.

"Jeez, anybody else get anything done?" Kankuro laughed and rolling his eyes.

"Some of the girls went with us too. Ino convinced Sakura to get her bellybutton pierced and Ino got her nose pierced as well. One of those that go on the side and are a tiny jewel." He stated; tapping the side of his nose.

"Doesn't Ino already have a bellybutton ring too?" Kankuro asked thinking about it and he nodded. "You guys are a bunch of freaks with all those piercings. I don't have any." He stated.

"Heh I bet if you were all 18 you would have come back with tattoos too." Temari laughed (who just had her ears pierced once).

"Shikamaru has his ears pierced too doesn't he?" Naomi asked.

"Mhm; him, Ino, and Choji got them done together as some best friend thing when they were kids. Ha I remember buying him these really girly earrings for his birthday one year just to piss him off!" Temari laughed.

"Do you have any piercings?" Kankuro asked Naomi while laughing at the fact that so many of their friends (guy friends as well) had piercings.

"Seven in my ears." She started; pulling her hair back to show the three on one side and four in the other. "And my bellybutton." She added pulling up her shirt to show her stomach. Her bellybutton ring was of a small silver charm in the shape of a raccoon with little bright blue stones for the eyes ((ironic?)).

"I didn't know you had that." Gaara stated surprised.

"Well how often have you seen her without a shirt?" Kankuro asked laughing at the pink that rushed to Gaara's cheeks for a quick instant.

"Idiot." He snapped and as he thought about it the only times he would have really had an opportunity to notice was back when they first met and he was wrestling her for his phone or when she ran to him after running away and her shirt had soaked through. Both times he was preoccupied and never bothered to notice.

"My sister goes to college with this guy that's got all of our friends beat though." Naomi stated as she pulled her shirt back down. "Goes by the nickname of Pein, his entire face and ears are covered in piercings, even has some surface piercings on his arms and his girlfriend, Konan or something like that only has like one." She explained.

"I've seen them around campus, they're in the graduate classes but I've seen them walking around. Your sister is friends with a bunch of weirdoes." Temari laughed and Kankuro nodded.

"Well I can't exactly say my friends are sane either. You three included." Naomi laughed while pointing at the three of them.

"True." Temari and Kankuro agreed and Gaara nodded.

Shortly after that Kankuro headed to his room and Temari went to start making dinner. Naomi challenged Gaara to a DDR match; which he reluctantly agreed and he managed to do fairly well (better then Kankuro anyway). After that Gaara and Naomi played Nazi Zombies for awhile before growing bored and just watched TV. While they watched it Naomi glanced at Gaara again and fought to keep the smile from her face. She was also fighting to restrain a fangirlish squeal that wanted to spring from her at the sight of his lip and tongue piercing. She had a thing for guys (emo guys) and facial piercings and even more of a thing for singers that have facial piercings (who are also emo guys); particularly lip and tongue (especially tongue). The fact that Gaara was now a combination of all of that (and somewhat emo as well as gothic) was making her feel giddy and really hard for her to restrain a squeal and a blush.

"Is there a reason you keep staring at me?" Gaara demanded while trying to keep a smug look from his face.

Naomi blushed and looked away (well so much for restraining the blush). "S-sorry… I umm I uh just really like your new piercings is all." She stated and Gaara couldn't restrain the smirk at that.

"Why's that?" He decided to ask though he thought he had a good guess going by her behavior.

"Haha well I kinda got this thing for guys with facial piercings… and a major one for singers with tongue rings. I don't know why I just really like it. It's sexy… I can't- it's like- oh my god! It's so- gah!" She exclaimed; getting too excited over it to properly explain herself. She just blushed and let out a small squeal of approval.

"What was that supposed to be?" Gaara asked curiously but not denying the fact that he liked the effect he was having over her now.

"I believe she is trying to tell you she has a fetish for guys with facial piercings and singers with tongue rings. You fall into both those categories now my brother." Kankuro stated from behind the couch and they both jumped while Naomi blushed furiously and Gaara smirked smugly before he could stop himself. "And girls these days really like emo guys, I mean just look at Sasuke's fan club. You got that going in your favor too." He added casually and Naomi's blush darkened (if that was possible at this point).

"That's not- it's um- I just-….Shut up Kankuro!" She snapped; trying to defend herself and failing miserably. She got up and headed off to the kitchen to help Temari and get away from the two brothers (one of which was laughing his ass off and the other had grown a cocky smirk that could have rivaled Sasuke's).

"Ha see! You know its true then." Kankuro laughed when she was gone. Gaara ignored him and focused on recovering his emotionless appearance (while also ignoring an annoyingly perverted and cocky devil insanity sitting on his shoulder and carrying on just as bad as Kankuro). "She's gotten a lot better." Kankuro stated thoughtfully after coming down from his laughter.

"Yeah." Gaara agreed.

"Think she'll go home soon?" He asked curiously.

Gaara responded with a shrug.

"Have you two talked about it?"

"No."

"Will you?"

He responded with another shrug.

"If she brings it up?"

"Yes." At this point Kankuro glared at his brother in annoyance.

"Can you answer me in anything besides monosyllabic answers?"

"..."

"…"

"No." Gaara answered; trying to irritate his brother now and an inner Gaara growing a trollface (you mad bro?).

"I hate you." Kankuro muttered; shaking his head before plopping down on the couch in Naomi's no vacant seat.

Naomi entered the kitchen with a sigh; she finally managed to get her blush to go away. _'Stupid boys and stupid hormones.'_ She thought irritably while successfully recovering her composure. Said composure was short lived however as Temari started her round of teasing. The result of which was Naomi storming off into the guestroom in embarrassment where she stayed till dinner.

Gaara arrived to school the next day a little later than usual as Naomi had woken up with them and decided she wanted to make breakfast for them all. So he actually decided to stay and eat breakfast instead of his usual leaving without eating. When he got to the usual spot everyone was already there but Sasuke. He paused at that, Sasuke usually got there pretty early.

"Where's Sasuke?" He decided to ask as he sat on the steps beside Naruto and Hinata.

"He's sick apparently." Naruto answered with a shrug.

"He was fine yesterday." Neji commented.

"Ha maybe he's being a baby because getting those snakebites hurt. I got way more piercings then him and I'm fine!" Naruto stated proudly.

"There is a bug going around you know." Sakura snapped; concerned about her "precious" Sasuke being sick.

"Or he's being lazy and felt like ditching." Kiba suggested.

Everyone shrugged then dropped it, not really seeing the point in debating about it. It didn't matter anyway. When the bell rang for class Gaara headed to his first hour with a slight uneasy feeling. Was he really sick or feeling like ditching? The entire week he had been worried about Shikamaru noticing something but in fact Sasuke was the one that had been watching him like a hawk it seemed. Did he suspect something? If he did it still didn't really explain why he wasn't here though.

* * *

Sasuke sighed boredly and drummed his hands on his steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio while he stared at his car's clock. He was parked at a gas station while he waited for time to slowly go by. When he saw that it was finally after eight o'clock he pulled out and headed back to his house knowing Itachi had left for class by that point. When he got back to his house he threw his bag on the floor in his room and changed out of his school uniform and into a pair of black jeans and a black My Chemical Romance t-shirt.

"And that is how you ditch school without your annoying older brother finding out." He muttered to himself knowing Itachi would have called him out on it if he had simply just pretended to be sick. After all he was apparently well enough to get metal shoved into his face yesterday.

He lay down on his bed and stared at his ceiling boredly, waiting for more time to go by. He didn't ditch because he didn't feel like going to school; he had a plan. He had noticed that Gaara was apparently hiding something as he was acting pretty off the whole week and he had a good hunch he knew exactly what (or rather who) he was hiding. He knew Gaara wouldn't own up to it if he confronted him about it so he developed his little master plan to find if he was indeed right about what he suspected. Now he just figured he'd wait until it got a little later in the morning before he set the rest of his plan in motion.

By ten o'clock he decided he waited long enough and headed out of his house. He didn't go to his car; instead he walked off the property and headed down the street on foot. The car would be too noticeable. When he reached his destination he stared at it from the shadows of a tree across the street.

Sasuke stared at the windows of Gaara's house. After a few minutes he caught movement in one of them and he inwardly smirked. The place should have been empty, unless of course Gaara was indeed doing what Sasuke suspected. He crept over into the yard and crept around the premises, looking for an entry point. Quickly he spotted one. One of the windows on the second floor had a balcony and was one of those window door things. There was a tree nearby it and he smirked.

Quietly he crept over to the tree and scaled it with ease. Once he reached a branch that was level with the second floor window he gauged the distance and leapt. He gauged it correctly and grasped onto the railing of the balcony, pulling himself up and over it silently and crept over to the glass doors. He jiggled the handles and of course they were locked. He only paused for a moment while he analyzed the doors and then smirked; pulling his library card out of his wallet and sliding it in the gap between the doors. Without great difficulty he was able to use that to unlatch the hook on the other side and the doors unlocked.

"I knew all those times of playing ninja as a kid with Itachi would come in handy one day." He muttered quietly to himself as he silently slipped into the room and shut and locked the window doors behind him.

He wasn't too surprised to find himself in Temari's room and only glanced around for a second before he crept to the door and slipped into the hall. He listened carefully for a sound and could hear noise in the kitchen down below. _'I knew it.'_ He thought to himself as he started for the stairs.

Naomi paused in her rummaging through the refrigerator when she thought she heard a sound come from upstairs. She looked up suspiciously but shrugged it off and turned back to the subject of food. This house did have a tendency to creak a lot; it seemed to come standard with giant houses. Big giant house equals creaks, creepy basements, and attics. Both of which she chose to steer clear of as she'd seen a few too many horror movies. She mentally laughed at herself for being so superstitious while debating on what she wanted to have as a snack.

"So do all runaways get to stay in mini manors or is it just you?" A voice stated from behind her and Naomi nearly jumped out of her skin and let out a slight shriek in surprise before whirling around to find the source of her fright (while pressing herself defensively against the refrigerator).

"Sasuke!" She exclaimed; completely surprised and shocked to find said boy leaning against the archway to the kitchen, arms crossed, and not at all looking surprised to see her here.

"Hello Naomi." He stated casually.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded in confusion while relaxing from her defensive position. "Scratch that; how did you get in here?" She decided to ask instead.

"Temari's room. I climbed the tree outside, jumped on her balcony, picked the lock on her glass doors, and slipped in." He stated with a shrug.

Naomi blinked in surprise. "You fucken ninja. You're as bad as Naruto with his breaking into my room." She stated shaking her head at her friends' abilities to sneak into someone's house. "Well if being a rock star doesn't work out, you'll make great thieves." She added jokingly before eyeing him suspiciously and he shrugged. "So why did you break in here?" She demanded now.

"I suspected Gaara was hiding something so I came to investigate. Strange to find it was you he was hiding." He answered though his tone and posture clearly said it wasn't strange and he wasn't surprised, he knew she was here.

"You broke into Gaara's house to try to find me?" She asked surprised.

"Your boyfriend isn't exactly the best actor in the world. It needed looking into." He answered with a shrug.

"He's not my boyfriend." Naomi snapped and ignored the blush that threatened to make its way onto her face.

"Whatever." He stated and rolled his eyes.

Naomi sighed and then moved to leave the kitchen. "Since I doubt I can make you leave and forget I was ever here let's go talk in the living room." She stated and he nodded, following her. "So why exactly were you trying to find me?" She decided to ask when they plopped down on the couch.

"Like I said, Gaara was acting suspicious and nobody knew where you were. I put two and two together."

"Yeah I got that. I meant why? You obviously came knowing I would be here so there had to be another reason."

"Nobody knows where you are and they're worried." He answered.

"I know…" She muttered knowing everyone was worried, she also knew he was talking about himself as well (thanks to Gaara) but she highly doubted she could get him to admit that.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked suddenly; now noticing the nasty looking, scabbed over gash that was running down the length of her arm.

"Oh I got caught on a fence when I was running." She answered and glanced down at it; it had healed enough where she didn't need to wrap it in bandages anymore. She kind of forgot about it actually, it had stopped hurting awhile ago. Though she had a feeling it was going to scar.

"Good job genius." He retorted sarcastically and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Shut up duck-butt." She responded.

"Why do you call me that?" He demanded in irritation.

"Have you not seen the back of your head? Yeah you got the emo hairstyle and it's a cool look but it also really resembles a ducks ass the way it sticks up." She explained.

"Right."

"Well it's either that or cockatoo head." She laughed and he scowled before deciding to get back on track.

"Why'd you run anyway?" He asked; he mainly came here to understand (and possibly convince her to go home).

Naomi thought for a moment then sighed and began to explain what had happened. "Now…. It's not so much of not wanting to go home as it is not knowing what to do when I get there or how to go about going home." She finished.

Sasuke remained silent while he listened to her. She's definitely been through a lot; it was understandable that she ran. At least she had enough sense to run to someone who was obviously taking care of her (surprisingly enough). "Why exactly are you hesitant in returning home?"

"It's… I just don't know how to confront her…" She began. "I've been trying to think of a good plan for going home and what to say but so far I haven't come up with anything. I don't know what she told my dad and sister about what happened so it's hard to form a plan, I don't know what to expect."

"From what I heard Megumi telling Itachi, she didn't tell them anything. She only told them that you two fought and you blew it out of proportion. I think she tried to pass it off as your grades or something."

"ppfftt as if they believed I would run away because my grades aren't acceptable to her." She muttered while rolling her eyes.

"They didn't buy it but she had to give the cops some lame story without admitting to cheating on your father." He responded.

"Heh, now dumbass cops believing that, I can understand." She replied.

"So what are you going to do about her?"

Naomi remained silent while she thought about it before leaning back on the couch and staring at the ceiling. "I don't know to be honest. All I know is that I'll get my revenge on that bitch one way or another." She answered.

"Revenge how?"

"Like I said, I don't know yet." She replied before glancing at him. "Any suggestions on the best way to get revenge?" She asked curiously.

"Besides straight up killin' a bitch?"

"Yeah, besides 'straight up killin' a bitch.' Revenge that doesn't lead me straight to jail." She laughed.

"You've asked the right person about revenge." He commented before thinking about it. "There's two ways you can go about this; the most obvious is to speak up and tell everyone exactly what happened. It will also have the most obvious results." He began and she nodded. "However you could extract your revenge in a more cunning and ultimately crueler way." He finished with a bit of a sinister smile forming on his lips.

"Go on." She encouraged eagerly; an evil grin splitting across her own face.

"I suggest you start playing mind games with her. Screw with her head; get back at her without being so upfront about it. Hit her where it hurts and manipulate her emotions until eventually she cracks under the pressure and has her own break down. It'll be long and painful for her if you do it right. So obviously more satisfying for you in the end." He explained.

"How exactly would I go about doing that?" She asked; intrigued by what he was saying.

"Whatever way you think is more cunning. You can blackmail her and manipulate her that way, you can remain completely silent and let her be driven insane by the paranoia of you eventually saying something, or you could simply be a brain ninja and plant a little bomb in the back of her mind." He answered.

"A brain ninja?" She asked confused.

"All it takes is a simple, well placed word or sentence. Something that will linger in the back of her mind constantly, it won't seem like much to her initially but sooner or later it will start to effect her, slowly torturing her from the inside and then one day it will detonate and explode, causing her to have her final break down." He explained and Naomi stared at him for a moment.

"Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a sadistically evil little fucker?" She grinned.

"Why yes they have." He responded proudly.

She smirked and laughed while shaking her head. "Well that gives me something new to think about." She mused as she thought about what he said.

"….Will you go home soon?" He decided to ask.

"I dunno…maybe?" She responded.

"Well you can't stay here forever."

"I know. I think I'll start driving them all insane soon." She agreed; knowing sooner or later they'd grow tired of their houseguest.

"And they're not the only ones who know where you are now. I can't promise I'll stay quiet forever." He responded.

"You have to! You can't say anything!" She exclaimed quickly. "No one can know I'm here. They'll get in a lot of trouble if people found out…" She added.

"Then you better reach your decision soon. I'll give you a week. After that I'm talking. Itachi can't keep your sister under control forever. Besides, that looser Naruto will probably start going crazy sooner or later too, he's talked about starting a search party for you. Plus Neji might just kill himself from his misplaced guilt and-

"Alright, alright, I get it. I know I can't keep worrying everyone and I can't run forever." She cut in.

"No you can't."

She sighed and started staring at the ceiling again. Sasuke rolled his eyes and after glancing at his watch decided it would be best to get going. School would be getting out soon and he didn't need Gaara to find him here. _"Oh I just broke into your house to find the runaway you've been hiding in your closet. Don't mind me, I'll just be going now."_Not an ideal conversation he wanted to have.

Sasuke got up and glanced back over at her. "I'm going to go before Gaara finds me here and decides my spine needs to be ripped out." He stated and Naomi nodded.

"I can't imagine Gaara takes well to people breaking into his house." She agreed.

"Preciously." He agreed. "Mind if I just use the front door on my way out? I don't really feel like ninja-ing my way back out of the house." He added.

"Fine, take the boring way out." She laughed and turned away from him to go back to her thinking.

"You have a week." He stated as he started to the hall.

"Right, I wouldn't want my babysitter to be worried about me for too much longer!" She called after him as she turned on the TV.

"I never said _I_ was the one worried about you. I'm talking about the idiots who are stressing out about you!" He snapped back from within the hall.

"The 'idiots' aren't the ones who broke into someone's house just to find me!" She responded and heard him grumble and curse under his breath as he left the house. "Hehe Sasgay's easy to fuck with." She laughed as she started flipping through TV channels. "Hmm if Megumi and Itachi were ever to get married I think Sasuke and I could easily fall into the role of siblings. We already torment each other like we are." She mused and laughed slightly at the idea of it.

Once she picked a channel she liked she started watching TV while going over her situation and continued to think about what to do. Gaara was surprised to come home from school that day to find Naomi in a rather good mood and the only clue she gave him was that she was going over different ideas for revenge and trying to decide the best one. He was a little confused but shrugged it off. Temari was also surprised when she got home from class when she found a muddy foot print in her room. The result of which was Naomi convincing Kankuro that the house was haunted and watching him freak out for several hours while Temari and Gaara asked her what really happened. Naomi explained about Sasuke's ninja visit and convinced Gaara not to kick his ass for breaking into his home (as she wanted to first sell tickets and then watch).

None of them bothered to tell Kankuro the house wasn't really haunted…


	8. Going Home

I am super sorry about my extreme lack of an update! To explain my year long absence would take far to long and I'm sure no one wants to hear all about my business. The important thing is I'm back now! I am very sorry for being gone for so long and not giving anyone any real notice or explanation. I apologize once more. Now here we go! One new chapter! I'll try to start staying on top of things again. ^^' It's good to be back and good to finally have my muse back!

* * *

Naomi sighed heavily out of boredom as she waited impatiently on Gaara's bed. It was now Wednesday and she had finally made up her mind about returning home. It had taken a lot of time and thinking to finally come to this decision and even now she still felt an urge to change her mind again and stay. She knew she couldn't though; she had to go back, as it was she only had two more days before Sasuke blabbed and she didn't want to outstay her welcome with Gaara. She made up her mind and was going to leave, she wouldn't worry everyone anymore. Now she was just waiting for Gaara to return home from band practice so she could discuss it with him. She had a plan; she had it all figured out. She knew what she was going to tell everyone and knew what she was going to do. She had a plan for her revenge to work and only hoped it would go the way she wanted. She hoped everyone would react and respond correctly.

As Naomi waited for Gaara to get back she brushed some of her hair out of her face and sighed; thoughts were still brewing and anger was still there but she'd learn to control them again like she always did. She was putting her head back on straight and going to carry on with her life. She wasn't going to care anymore.

Gaara wasn't too surprised to find Naomi sitting in his room when he got home. He walked into his room to find her rocking out to his Disturbed collection. At first he was a slightly worried that her good mood had ended and she hit a relapse but he noted she was just listening to the music and singing along; she wasn't in a horrible mood. Naomi nodded to him while she sang along and Gaara listened to her sing along to the end of The Infection.

"Now if I am to survive, the infection must die. Murder the beast that's been eating me alive. The infection must die. This is where I draw the line. This infection must die. Give me release from this demon of mine. The infection must die. The infection must die!" She sang and then stopped the music when the song ended. "Hey." She waved while tucking some of her hair behind her ear. It had gone crazy and everywhere while she was rocking out.

"The infection must die huh?" Gaara asked curiously while he put his school stuff down. He had a hunch that she was listening to that song for a reason.

"Yep." She agreed; understanding what he meant.

"What's the infection?" He asked with his back to her as he dug out a regular t-shirt from his dresser and a pair of jeans. "It's not the woman is it? Are you planning on killing her?" He added in a serious voice, but Naomi could tell it was a joke.

"Thought about it but no." Naomi answered. "I don't want to end up in jail." She added.

"Then what is it?" He asked while removing his uniform shirt and Naomi pretended not to stare.

After living with him for almost two weeks now and spending most of the time in his room she had seen him shirtless plenty of times and while it didn't faze him anymore for her to see him change shirts or sleep in his boxers she couldn't say the same for herself. She still blushed lightly and tried really hard not to stare.

"It has to do with her. It's just not her specifically." Naomi answered vaguely.

"That's helpful." Gaara muttered as he threw on a t-shirt. Naomi politely turned her back to him and waited for him to finish changing his pants before turning around again and speaking up.

"Speaking about her... I need to talk to you." Naomi began a little hesitantly.

Gaara nodded and sat down at his desk, turning the chair to face the rest of the room and waited for her to start talking. Naomi sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed before beginning. "….I'm ready to go home." She admitted.

"You are?" Gaara asked; a little surprised.

"I've thought about it for days now, I've thought everything over and I've come up with a plan."

"A plan?"

"I've decided on how I'm going to get revenge on her."

"How?"

"I'm going to make her hurt. I'm going to fuck with her head like she fucked with mine." She answered before continuing. "To do this… I need you to keep quiet about why I ran away."

"What do you mean? You're not going to tell anyone why?"

"No I'm not. It's part of my plan so please; you guys can't tell anyone the truth."

"What will you tell the others?"

"I'll make something up and tell them I don't want to talk about it. They'll understand that it's personal and my business."

"I suppose."

"It's part of my plan. I know what I'm doing."

"Alright, we'll keep quiet about it."

"Thank you." She smiled softly before continuing. "I also need your help…" She added.

"With what?"

"Tomorrow, will you drive me to my dad's work? I want to have a chance to talk to him myself before that woman can get to him."

"Alright."

"Thank you. I promise I'll make it up to you for all that you've done for me."

"You could start by telling me a bit more about what your revenge plan is. I want to know what you're up to." He replied as he leaned back in his chair. He wanted to make sure she wasn't going to be in over her head and wanted to know her mental state at the moment. Knowing her revenge plan would help him gauge how she was doing.

Naomi hesitated before answering. "I'm being a brain ninja like Sasuke suggested. I'm staying quiet and planting a few bombs in her head to make her hurt and suffer. I'll send her into her own mental break down and make her feel what I went through." She answered bitterly. "…The infection that has to die… the infection is that small little part of me that once thought of her as my mother. I'm killing any parts of me that still cares for her. She's dead to me now. She's caused this pain and hate that's been eating me up inside; if I don't care anymore I won't suffer anymore." Naomi explained.

"Can you really do that?" Gaara asked knowing how much of a hold her mother had on her mentally. He easily desensitized and detached anything that had to do with his father a long time ago but his relationship with his father was much different than her relationship with that woman.

"I have to. I can't keep going on like this. Destroying anything inside me that has to do with her will destroy my anger and other issues. This is how I will be able to heal myself."

"Don't hurt yourself anymore in the process." Gaara advised for lack of anything else to say.

"I won't." She replied with a tiny smile, she knew Gaara well enough now to know how hard it is for him to open up to someone so she was touched by how open he'd be with her and actually showing signs of caring for her.

"Tomorrow I'll skip school and take you to your dad's work while it's still early in the day." Gaara stated as he thought things over.

"Thank you. I know you guys lied to the police about hiding me here. I'll make sure you guys won't get in trouble for it. I promise." She replied knowing that if she cleared it up with her father first he wouldn't press any charges or anything.

"How will you explain the clothes that Temari bought for you? Are you taking them with you?"

"I figured I'd leave them here so not to look too suspicious. I mean, I wasn't planning on wearing my ruined uniform like I ran away in, but taking a whole bag of clothes might be too much." She answered.

"Leave them here. We'll keep them in the spare room in case you ever need to stay here again or something."

Naomi talked things over about returning home with Gaara for quite some time after that and once Temari and Kankuro got home she discussed it all with them as well. After it was all taken care of she sent a text to Sasuke, telling him she'd be going home tomorrow and so he didn't need to start blabbing to anyone. What she got in response was "FINALLY! Revenge time?" It made her laugh quietly to herself and shake her head. She sent a "Yes brain ninja" in return so that he had an idea of what to expect. After that she took a shower and then spent awhile sitting on Gaara's bed in silence while she thought about everything. Gaara let her be and focused on his own things. After awhile though she grew bored of sitting in silence and thanks to some sweets Temari brought up for them (mostly for her) she was feeling pretty damn hyper. Boredom and hyper- bad combination. She gazed at Gaara while he had his back to her reading at his desk. An evil glint appeared in her eyes while she grinned and slipped off the bed silently.

Naomi stalked up on the unsuspecting Gaara. The poor boy had no idea what hit him before Naomi had pounced on him and knocked the swivel chair right out from under him, causing the pair to tumble to the floor.

"What the hell!?" Gaara shouted as he was pinned to the ground.

"Hi." Naomi stated cheerfully and casually.

"What's the matter with you?" He demanded; confused by her odd behavior and pointedly ignoring the strange churning feeling going on in his stomach at her pinning him down like this.

"I'm bored." She whined.

"So you attacked me?"

"Entertain me!"

Gaara stared at her blankly for a few minutes. "Temari shouldn't have given you all those sweets." He muttered in exasperation.

"Oh well." She stated and sat up on top of him. Gaara once again pointedly ignored (or tried to anyway) the odd sensation in his gut as she now straddled him. "So you have a few options here, you can prepare yourself for an epic tickle and wrestle match that I am sure to win, you can entertain me by singing a song of my choice, or you can join me in the wonderment that is dancing like a retard." She explained in a very serious tone despite her odd request. "Or all of the above." She added cheerfully.

"There's something seriously wrong with you." Gaara responded.

"Wrong answer! Now it's all three!"

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No."

"Good to know." Gaara muttered sarcastically.

"Shut up and hold still! I must figure out where you're ticklish!" She snapped and started studying him very serious like.

"I'm not ticklish you know." Gaara stated boredly as he watched her.

"Liar. Everyone is ticklish somewhere. You just have to find it." She replied and proceeded to poke and prod him in different spots looking for a reaction.

Gaara watched her boredly while she poked him and brushed her finger tips against different parts of his arms or sides trying to see if she could get a response. Gaara decided to question her sanity while she did this and made a mental note to never let Temari feed her sweets again. She was normal a few hours ago. It wasn't until Naomi had lifted up Gaara's shirt and brushed a finger against his tummy that his emotionless façade began to crack.

Naomi blinked in surprise at the slight twitch of Gaara's chin in response to her prodding. She grinned wickedly and began to poke him on his belly in the area around his navel. Gaara's face continued to twitch and he bit his lip in restraint as she continued to poke, pinch, and brush her fingertips against his stomach. Ok so maybe he was ticklish after all. Still, he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of winning. Or at least that's what he thought before she poked his bellybutton and he couldn't restrain a very small and very light chuckle at the sensation and squirmed.

Naomi grinned triumphantly. "I win!" She declared happily and poked his bellybutton again to further emphasize her point and Gaara laughed softly again. "Stop." He muttered while he tried to escape from under her.

"Seriously Gaara, of all places to be ticklish? Your bellybutton? Really? Well technically it's your whole tummy, but seems to be worst here." She taunted as she continued to tickle him.

Gaara frowned and glared, but even to him, he had to admit that it didn't look the least bit threatening, it looked more playful then anything. "Shut up." He snapped in embarrassment before an idea struck him and he turned his attention back to her face. "My turn." He threatened before flipping positions and pinning her to the ground under him.

Naomi let out a small "Eep!" as she was flipped onto her back and blushed faintly when he got on top of her to keep her pinned down. "Now where is your tickle spot?" Gaara asked in an executioner like voice. Naomi just giggled and then shut her mouth while shaking her head; signaling she wasn't saying.

"Alright we'll do this the hard way." Gaara responded and began his own search for where she was ticklish.

It wasn't very hard to find. Naomi was apparently ticklish everywhere but he soon discovered she was worst on her sides and there was where he directed his torture. Naomi laughed and giggled like crazy while Gaara tickled her sides and she begged him to stop while she laughed insanely. Their tickle fight was also quickly becoming a wrestling match.

A long while later Gaara finally stopped tickling Naomi's sides and sat up from his previously hovering over her position. He sat back down so it was he who was straddling her this time and stared down at her. That strange sensation came back in his stomach (he managed to ignore it while he was tickling her and they were playing around) but it came back stronger as he stared down at her. Her hair was sprawled out around her, her chest was rising and falling rapidly from her breathing so hard, her face was flushed, her hands were on his thighs (they were on his hips in a vain attempt to shove him off her but once he sat back down they slid down off his hips and rested there), and he had his hands in her shirt from tickling her sides. He let his hands brush down her sides and onto her stomach softly (he mentally noted how smooth her skin was as he did so).

Naomi blushed as Gaara did that and now that the tickle fight was over they both noted the rather compromising position they were in and where their hands were. They blinked slowly at each other and instead of scrambling away from each other in embarrassment Naomi found herself running her hands back up his thighs, her thumbs slipping into his belt loops while Gaara's hands went back to her sides and up into her shirt and stopping at the base of her bra as he leaned back over her and leaned down. Both paused with their mouths just a few inches away from each other. Naomi was blushing heavily in anticipation and Gaara was raging war with himself not to chicken out. Both their eyes began to shut and they leaned in closer before Gaara's door was suddenly thrown open.

"Gaara, Temari wants-

The rest of Kankuro's sentence stopped short as he walked in on the little scene. He stared bug eyed at his brother on top of Naomi with his hands in her shirt and hers inappropriately placed near his hip/pelvis area; both were now staring at him in horror. His bug eyed and shocked expression then turned into a sly grin. "Am I interrupting anything little brother?" He teased while leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed casually.

"Kankuro!" Gaara snarled; getting up off of Naomi fast (both blushing darkly).

"Kill him." The devil snarled alongside him.

"No calm down! It was just an accident." The angel responded.

"Get out!" Gaara snapped at him dangerously.

"It's nothing honest!" Naomi exclaimed at the same time while also standing up.

"Rrrriiiggghhhttt… Remind me again the definition of nothing. Cuz a guy on top of a girl with his hands up her shirt and hers getting dangerously close to his crotch is generally not nothing." Kankuro laughed.

"It's not like that!" She protested. "We were wrestling." She tried again.

"Is that what they're calling it now?" He laughed.

"No! Gah honestly Kankuro! It wasn't anything; we were just wrestling and tickling each other. That's all we weren't doing anything." She exclaimed; throwing her hands up in defeat.

"She's right. It wasn't anything dirty. Now what the hell do you want?" Gaara finally spoke up.

"Temari wants to do laundry so she needs yours out of the dryer." He stated; getting back on track as to why he came in there.

"Fine." Gaara grumbled and left the room without a word; hoping if he'd just walk away from the awkward situation it would just go away.

Kankuro followed his little brother out after pretending to zip his lips shut and wink at Naomi; signaling he wouldn't tell anyone what he thought he saw (which she didn't buy for an instant). Once she was alone however she sat on the bed and stared at the ground with a beat red face. _'I almost kissed him!'_ She mentally shouted; surprised about what had overcome her. "…He almost kissed me…" She whispered as she thought out loud and a large smile grew on her face as she thought about that as well as her blush darkening. "Damn you Kankuro." She grumbled and flopped back on the bed with a sigh.

Gaara continued to walk down the hall and head downstairs to the laundry room; ignoring Kankuro walking beside him. "Ssssoooo…." Kankuro stated while he followed his little brother around.

"What?" Gaara demanded but wished Kankuro would just go away.

"What really happened?"

"What Naomi said is what happened. It really was nothing." He responded in disinterest.

"Really now?"

"Yes."

"Didn't look like nothing."

"Well it was."

"Are you sure?"

"Damn sure." He responded and quickly left Kankuro there.

Gaara entered the laundry room and started taking clothes out of the dryer and looked up to notice Kankuro was there. "What now?" He sighed.

"So if it was actually nothing…" Kankuro began.

"Fucken hell Kankuro! It was nothing!" Gaara snapped.

"Haha than why do you have a boner?" Kankuro laughed; not able to keep his laughter silent any longer.

Gaara froze and glanced down at his pants before scowling darkly at Kankuro; masking his humiliation with anger. "Fuck off!" He shouted and grabbed the rest of his clothes before storming past him. "Why the hell were you staring at my crotch anyway? Freak." He snapped while he headed back towards the stairs.

"I wasn't staring at your junk man. You wear some rather tight jeans dude and its pretty damn noticeable." He answered matter-of-factly.

"Shut up." Gaara snapped again.

"So if it was indeed nothing as you say and you just happened to pop a boner in result from your 'tickling' and 'wrestling'- which by the way I probably would too if I was in your position so don't feel bad, how exactly are you going to hide it from Naomi? How she didn't notice before is beyond me." Kankuro asked curiously.

Gaara stopped short as he thought about that. How could he hide it? Kankuro was right; the bulge was pretty damn noticeable. Fuck, he was an idiot; there would be no way she'd not notice. Maybe she won't say anything? What if she does? How the hell would he explain himself? More importantly, how was he supposed to explain what happened before Kankuro walked in? He was screwed.

"Well you seem to have plenty on your mind now so I'll let you be. Remember to lock the door this time." Kankuro laughed and went off to his own room after stopping to tell Temari the laundry room was free.

Gaara took some time heading back to his room; thinking hard on what he was supposed to say or do while willing his _problem_ to go away. When he did enter the room he held the laundry basket in front of him like a shield while walking over to his dresser. He made an effort to keep his back to Naomi and take as long as he dared (or would seem normal) to put all of his clothes away; taking extra time and care to fold and organize them.

Naomi stared at Gaara's back in confusion. He didn't even acknowledge her existence when he came in the room and now he was purposely keeping his back to her. What happened? Did Kankuro say something to piss him off? Did she do something? Was he going to avoid her because she almost kissed him? But he tried to kiss her too…? Did he regret it then? He didn't mean it and now he didn't want to face her for it? Naomi frowned deeply in a mixture of hurt and confusion.

Once Gaara finished putting all of his clothes away he knew he couldn't avoid the situation any longer and took a deep breath before turning around to face Naomi. He was surprised to find she looked upset. Now he was really confused, she looked like she was really troubled about something. What happened? Did he do something to upset her?

"Naomi, are you alright?" He asked.

Naomi looked up and back at Gaara when he spoke to her. "Yeah I'm fine." She lied and forced a smile onto her face. Gaara stared at her in disbelief. "Look about before… I'm sorry; too many endorphins in the brain or something. So, um, yeah… sorry. It didn't mean anything. We'll just pretend it never happened." She apologized; she really didn't want him to avoid her and have things be awkward because of their hormones getting the better of them. Maybe apologizing would be enough to fix it.

Gaara stared at her in surprise. She was apologizing? A strange clenching feeling erupted around his heart. She had just tried to kiss him and he almost kissed her; that was nothing? Almost kissing didn't mean anything to her? He didn't really want to talk about it out of embarrassment, but that didn't mean it was nothing to him. She didn't want to, she just wasn't thinking? Now she wanted to pretend that moment never happened? Great. Just fucking great.

It took Gaara a moment to find his voice but he did and quickly regained his emotionless composer; acting unaffected by what she just said. "Alright. Yeah, it's for the best that we just forget about it." He agreed; forcing the words out.

Naomi picked up on him not being affected or upset by her apology and him agreeing with her. She forced a calm and normal look on her face and nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She agreed.

"I'm going to take a shower." Gaara decided; he needed out of the room and he needed to be alone.

Naomi nodded to him and watched Gaara grab some clothes before heading into the connected bathroom. Once he was gone she sighed heavily and stared at the floor upset. She felt like an idiot now. A memory of her telling her sister that Gaara basically said he had no interest in relationships came back to her and made her sigh heavily again. That conversation seemed ages ago and a lot happened within that time frame; she was so stupid to think Gaara might've changed his mind. She felt so foolish for thinking Gaara's behavior and kindness towards her could mean anything more than just friendship.

She was about ready to continue to beat herself up when something stuck out to her in her mind. She replayed the memory of Gaara talking to her right before he went into the bathroom and as she did so she blushed furiously. Naomi placed her hand over her mouth while she blushed insanely red. _'He had a boner! '_ She mentally exclaimed in realization. _'That must have been why he was keeping his back to me like that and so quiet!'_ She continued to think_. 'Fuck and I screwed that up too by telling him to forget about it!'_ She shouted in anger in her head. She was about to keep beating herself up over that stupidity instead and think of how to fix it when another thought popped into her head_. 'Wait…. He had a boner… and just went to take a shower…. Oh My God!' _She thought before turning fifty shades darker of red as her mind went straight into the gutter. She covered her mouth and cheeks with both her hands while she mentally freaked out; afraid if she didn't keep her mouth clamped shut she'd start making too much noise in her freak out.

Gaara started his shower moodily and once in there he punched the wall in frustration. "Damn it." He growled both at the situation and now the pain in his hand. He felt like a fool and that clenching feeling around his heart was still there. It hurt; his heart hadn't hurt like this since he was a child and easily affected by those around him and their cruelty. This was a different type of pain though; it was worse. _"It didn't mean anything. We'll just pretend it never happened."_ The words echoed in his head again and the pain in his heart spiked again. The hell was wrong with him? They didn't even actually kiss and he felt like shit; before he was cursing Kankuro for interrupting them but now he was thankful. If they did and she still said it was nothing and to pretend that they hadn't he wasn't sure he could take it.

Gaara leaned his head against the shower wall and sighed heavily while the water poured over him. "Fuck it all." He grumbled.

"See I don't even know why you're so upset. You're not admitting you like her remember?" A voice stated and Gaara nearly stumbled over in shock and peaked out of the curtain to find the source of the voice. "Shit! Do you two really have to follow me everywhere? Including the damn shower!" He hissed at the two insanities that were casually sitting on top of the toilet. The devil was the one that had spoken up.

"We are you so we're with you everywhere." The angel answered with a shrug.

Gaara disappeared back behind the curtain and hit his head against the shower wall. "I'm losing it completely." He groaned.

"We're still here you know." The devil called.

"I was hoping if I ignored you then you'd go away." He answered back.

"Nope. We're here to help you deal with your little crisis." The angel stated.

"I don't want to talk to you two." He responded.

"Quit moping and listen up." The devil snapped.

"First things first, own up to your feelings." The angel started in a serious tone.

"I really don't feel like it. Besides even if I did admit liking her- and I'm not saying I do, what's the point? She clearly doesn't like me." Gaara retorted.

"Now see that's what we need to talk about. You're getting upset over nothing." The angel responded.

Gaara scowled at the wall. "It wasn't nothing." He growled.

"Idiot, it was a misunderstanding that got you all upset." The devil stated boredly.

"What?" Gaara asked confused.

"Look, you came back into the room and kept your back to her, you didn't talk to her or anything just brushed her off completely. More than likely she thought you were the one who regretted it, not her. When you did turn to face her she was upset, why do you think that was? Because you gave her the impression that you didn't want to see her after what happened. She said those things because she thought you wanted to hear them." The angel explained.

"Exactly, and you agreed to them." The devil added and Gaara fumed; hitting his head against the wall again, this time in response to his stupidity. If that was the case then he just made things worse! She thought he didn't want to kiss her and then he basically said she was right!

"I'm such an idiot!" He exclaimed though careful not to be too loud. He sighed heavily before speaking up again. "How do I fix this?" He asked.

"Own up to your feelings. Tell her how you feel." The angel answered simply.

Gaara sighed heavily. "….I can't…" He muttered.

"Why not?" It demanded.

Gaara sighed before answering; leaning his head back against the wall. "….I don't want a relationship. I don't want to be hurt. I've been through enough already; love is a lie." He answered and placed his hand over his heart. If just liking her caused that much pain over a misunderstanding he didn't even want to think about how much pain would come over something bad happening in a relationship. And if she left him? He couldn't handle that.

"It is not. Your friends and family care for you and you care for them, that is a form of love." The angel responded.

"That's different. Bonds are easily broken; friends care but only to an extent. They'd betray you if they had to or wanted to. Friends don't last forever either. Family bonds are supposed to be stronger. Your family is supposed to always be there and not hurt you. That's a bunch of bullshit." He answered thinking about Naomi's family situation, Hinata's prick of a father, Sasuke's father being an asshole and also playing favorites before he died, and his own family; his bastard of a father that never gives them the time of day and never bothers to come visit them and his uncle who tried to murder him. "And it's no different for relationships. Partners cheat, lie, manipulate, abuse, all of that, those bonds are just used again and again. Love is just a lie. Care for others but only to an extent. Always shield your heart from the inevitable hurt."

"Exactly. Put yourself first, all you need is yourself." The devil agreed but the angel just frowned.

"You know that's not completely true. You're only thinking of the bad. There are good people too. There are people in this world who won't hurt you and who won't use the bonds they have. You know I'm right. Just look at Naruto, he will never turn his back on any of his friends and he'd never purposely do anything to hurt Hinata. Hinata is another example; she doesn't have it in her to hurt anyone like you're saying people will."

Gaara didn't respond to the angel and turned to gaze out of the window. "You can't block people out completely. You are making bonds with others but you have to let those bonds keep growing. You have to let your heart open." The angel ordered.

"He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to." The devil responded to the angel.

"Yes he does because deep down inside he wants to." The angel snapped.

"No I don't." Gaara responded stubbornly.

"Yes you do. You just keep making excuses after excuses because you're afraid." It responded.

"I'm not afraid." Gaara responded which he knew was a lie.

"You are. That's why you think you can't tell her how you feel; you're afraid to. You're afraid of being hurt and are hurting yourself in the process. But you don't need to be. Naomi's a great person. You don't need to be afraid of taking a chance with her." The angel replied.

Gaara sighed heavily again. "Leave me alone. The both of you." He stated stubbornly.

"You can't keep denying your feelings. You're beginning to act on them without even realizing it. Like today." The angel continued stubbornly.

"Sure he can, he just has to be more careful." The devil retorted. "No more stunts like before."

"It's not just bad for him to keep denying his feelings while still acting on them. It's bad for her too. It's called mixed messages. They'll keep getting into misunderstandings like this if he does keep it up." The angel responded.

The two began to bicker and Gaara sighed in frustration. "Beat it." He snapped at them and they both poofed away with shakes of their heads.

Once they were gone he sighed heavily again. He'd have to be more careful. He was reluctantly becoming aware that he couldn't refuse to accept it forever and he knew that if he acted on one of these urges or feelings too carelessly before he was ready he wouldn't be able to take it back and that would change everything. It could be worse than today. He didn't want to hurt her for doing something stupid again and not being ready to own up to it.

When Gaara finally came back from his shower Naomi jumped and looked at him before quickly looking away in embarrassment; she was still attempting to reclaim her composer from her slight perverted freak out (and it didn't help that Gaara was wet and came back out in just a pair of sleep pants). "H-hey Gaara." She greeted when he came back in.

"Hey." He responded confused by her sudden nervousness. He was never going to understand girls.

"Uhh… have a fun shower?" She asked curiously before she could shut her mouth.

"You could say that..." He muttered; if you count having arguments with two insanities that even follow you into the shower as fun.

Naomi's eyes widened and she blushed darkly in response; quickly looking away from him and biting her lip like she was trying to restrain from saying anything. This confused Gaara even more. Apparently the two of them were on different pages and he wasn't even too sure if he wanted to know what page she was on.

"Sssooo…." Naomi trailed off awkwardly; she wasn't sure what they should do now. She wasn't sure what to say about before that could fix anything and definitely wanted to change the subject of where her mind currently was. Gaara was equally lost on what to do or say.

Their awkward silence was thankfully interrupted by Gaara's phone ringing and he got into a long conversation with Naruto about random things and also helping him over the phone with some of his homework. Naomi smiled while she listened to him talk to Naruto. She seriously missed that blonde idiot and his goofy self. She sighed and pulled out her phone; staring at it blankly, she really wanted to talk to some of her friends. It was just awhile longer before she'd be able to see them again. She was tempted to text Sasuke and annoy the crap out of him for awhile (since he was the only one she could talk to outside of Gaara and his sibs) but decided against it and just went off into her own world thinking about tomorrow.

When Naruto finally let Gaara get off the phone he glanced back at Naomi and found her out cold on his bed. He shook his head and turned back to his desk; grabbing a book and reading for quite some time. Around two in the morning he finally put it down and walked over to the bed. He tucked Naomi in instead of moving her and then got into bed beside her. He made sure to stay at the far edge of the bed away from her to give some space. He knew it probably wouldn't work and they'd end up cuddling anyway but it was a good attempt.

The next morning Gaara and Naomi woke up from hearing Kankuro and Temari moving around and getting ready for school. Both were embarrassed but neither was surprised to find them spooning. Gaara just muttered an apology and let go of her; getting up off the bed. Naomi followed suit and got up as well. Naomi talked with Temari and Kankuro for a bit before they left for class and she thanked them repeatedly for all they had done for her.

"No problem, we're glad we were able to help you with what you went through." Temari replied and gave her a hug.

"Yeah, the spare room's yours whenever you need it." Kankuro agreed and patted her on the back.

"Although I'm sure you rather just stay in Gaara's room." Temari teased and Gaara and Naomi both glared at her.

Shortly after that the two left for their classes and once alone Gaara went and watched some TV while Naomi went into the spare room she had been using and got ready to go. She pulled out one of the plainer pair of jeans Temari bought her, a simple t-shirt, the hoodie she was given, and some large sunglasses. She wanted as little attention brought to herself as possible. Once she had changed, she tucked her hair into her hood and put the sunglasses on she looked over herself in the mirror. She wouldn't be recognized like this.

After that she went back downstairs to where Gaara was waiting and stepped into the room. "How do I look?" She asked when she entered.

Gaara glanced at her before getting up off the couch (while turning the TV off). "Like an actual runaway or a clean hobo." He answered

"Clean hobo? Isn't that kind of an oxymoron?" She laughed.

"I guess." He agreed with a shrug.

"Anyway that's the point; I don't want anyone to recognize me on my way to my dad." She responded.

"It should work." He agreed and started for the hall to head to the door. Naomi hesitated for a moment; staring at her feet nervously before taking a deep breath and following him out.

The ride to Naomi's father was relatively silent. Naomi instructed Gaara on where to go to get to his work but other than that they did not speak. Finally when they got there she got him to park a little ways away from the building and sat in the passenger seat staring at the dashboard.

"You there?" Gaara asked curiously while glancing at her.

"Yeah… just a little nervous." She answered and put a small smile on her face.

Gaara nodded and let out a small sigh before placing his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm here when you need me." He told her before releasing her shoulder.

Naomi smiled and leaned over to him; wrapping her arms around his neck in an awkward side hug kind of thing. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me." She muttered while hugging him and leaned her head away from him just enough so she could look at his face and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Naomi blushed as she moved her face away from his; would that have been too bold? After such an awkward evening the night before she wasn't sure where they stood relationship-wise. Still she wanted to show her gratitude for all he had done for her. If she knew where they stood she would've pecked him on the lips but didn't dare go that far while still so unsure.

Gaara blinked at Naomi in shock. That was the second time she's kissed his cheek now. As she started to release him and move back towards her own seat he reached out for her and pulled her back to him. Gaara placed a hand on one of her cheeks and leaned in as if he were to kiss her back. When he was just an inch away from her lips he froze. He realized what he was doing and mentally shook his head before releasing her.

"I'll see you at school." He muttered while staring pointedly at his steering wheel; fighting to not let any of his embarrassment show on his face.

Naomi blushed darkly in embarrassment before nodding and getting out of the car; waving goodbye after she shut the door. Gaara didn't immediately drive off like she thought he might've, it seemed he was waiting to make sure she got to her dad's work alright. Naomi nodded to him once more and started walking with her head down.

As she walked she touched her cheek where he placed his hand. She wasn't sure what to make of that. She noticed the fact that he almost kissed her yet again, but decided against it and backed off. She also noticed how he deliberately looked away from her afterwards and signaled for her to leave. Was she reading too much into it again? Maybe he was just embarrassed? She mentally shook her head; she was seriously getting confused by all these mixed signals.

Naomi stopped in front of the doors to her father's work and took another deep breath. She was about to step forward and go in when a woman came bursting out and stormed right passed her; accidently knocking into her shoulder but not bothering to stop and apologize. Naomi froze in utter shock and whipped her head around to look at the retreating figure one more time. She watched her black hair flow out behind her while she walked away at a fast pace. "That couldn't have been…." She muttered under her breath; it wouldn't make sense, why would she be here? What could she possibly want? Still there was almost no mistaking those golden colored eyes….

Naomi shook her head to clear it and straightened her sunglasses while making sure her hood was on right. After that she walked up the steps and slipped into the building. She had only really been to her father's office once before and she paused in confusion as to where to go. There were fellow lawyers everywhere though; maybe one of them could point her in the right direction.

Without much difficulty she was at least able to find the receptionist desk and stopped in front of it. "Can I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked while taking in her appearance suspiciously.

"I'm looking for Mr. Ukashi." She answered.

"And you are…?" The woman responded.

"Where is his office? It's important; I… have some info about his daughter." She replied impatiently.

"In that case I'll call him this instant and tell him to come down." She stated and reached for her phone.

"No, please I want to go to him." Naomi responded quickly and slid her sunglasses off her nose so she could see her eyes. "It's personal." She added and the woman looked at her in surprise.

"You're…?" She began in realization.

"Yeah... where's my dad's office?" She replied; fixing her glasses.

The woman nodded and pointed Naomi off into the right direction; telling her he shouldn't be busy right now and that she'd be able to go right in. Naomi paused in front of the door to her father's office. There was no noise coming from inside; she wondered how he was, how he took her running away again. She was going to get it from Megumi; she knew that much already.

Naomi knocked once and then opened the door; poking her head in. There her father was, sitting at his desk. She was surprised to find the office a bit of a mess. Her father apparently stopped bothering to straighten up after himself. She also noticed once she got a good look at him that he looked horrid. There were huge bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in ages, he hadn't bothered to shave recently either and it didn't even look like he combed his hair much anymore either. He looked thinner too like he hadn't been eating much at all.

"Can I help you young lady?" He asked; confused by his second guest of the morning.

"Dad…" Naomi muttered; shocked by the toll her disappearance had taken on him.

As soon as the words left her mouth he was up and out of his chair. "Naomi!?" He exclaimed; nearly tripping over his chair in his rush.

Naomi removed the sunglasses and took down her hood to show him it was indeed her. "…Hi Dad…" She greeted nervously.

Naomi's father had crossed the length of the room in an instant and yanked her into his arms and into a tight bear hug. "Thank God you're back!" He exclaimed; eyes watering slightly.

"I'm so sorry dad…" She apologized as they hugged.

Her father loosened his grip on her and held her at arm's length in front of him. He carefully took in her appearance. For a runaway she looked very well taken care of and she was wearing new clothes. "Where the hell have you been?" He demanded without sounding angry, he was too relieved to have her back to be angry right now.

"I was somewhere safe. Don't worry dad, I was well taken care of." She answered with a smile.

"My debt to that boy keeps growing." He stated knowingly and she gave a small nod. "So… what happened, Naomi? Why did you run away again?"

Naomi hesitated before answering. "It was a stupid argument me and Haruka got into. I was in a very bad mood from school and when I came home she and I started to bicker and then things blew out of proportion and we started bringing up old shit with each other and we both lost our tempers and I blew up at her before storming out of the house." She explained.

Naomi's father looked at her while he listened to her explanation. He was acutely aware of the fact that she deliberately wasn't calling her "mom" anymore and was calling her by her actual name. That and the way she explained herself and held herself while talking made it very clear to him that there was more too it than that. He also could tell though that what the truth was was something she didn't want to discuss.

It wasn't a new thing for them. When she ran away constantly in the past sometimes she explained herself fully and sometimes she didn't. There were plenty of times where the two of them would argue and keep him out of it (which he greatly appreciated when he didn't need to be involved) and he never pressed for details, knowing Naomi would tell him when she was ready. The important things when she ran away was that she came back and though the promise wasn't always kept, always promised to not run away again and worked hard at fixing whatever problem arose between the two of them.

"You were gone for a quite a while for something being blown out of context." He commented.

"I was furious. We reopened a lot of old wounds…" She answered. "I needed time to cool my head and get away from her for awhile. I am so sorry for worrying you so much." She apologized again.

"Not just me, your sister is a total wreck and your mother is worried sick about you." He replied.

'_More like worried sick I'll blab..'_ She thought. "I know, and I am sorry." She responded while hanging her head in shame.

Naomi's father moved to sitting back into his chair while continuing to watch his daughter and Naomi moved into the seat across from his. "You know we had a talk about this before we moved here. We came to start over; you promised- swore you would be better and not behave like you did in the past. You gave your word that you wouldn't go back to your old ways." He continued.

"I know dad, I am doing better and I am not going back to my old ways. I promise I won't run away again. I know I had a hard time keeping that promise in the past and it might not mean much to you now, but I am changed now and this time when I say it, I mean it whole heartedly, I won't ever run away from home again." She replied.

"I am disappointed in you Naomi. I truly thought we were rising above all of this and moving on."

"I know… it's just hard dad. I am trying my very best to move forward and let all the past shit go but it's so hard when she keeps bringing it up and won't let me."

"I know sweetie… I know…" He responded; his wife wouldn't ever let him move on and let things go. He understood where Naomi was coming from in what she did and just wished Haruka would take all of her resentment for him out on him and leave his daughter alone about it. It wasn't her fault. "We're all making progress; this was just a tiny relapse." He commented.

"Yes, it was just old shit being brought up again, but it's the first time in a long time she and I fought like that. We are making progress on starting over." She replied.

"I should fillet you alive for scaring and worrying us all so much you know." He started sternly. "But I am just glad you're home. It seems you've straightened yourself out completely and matured some from this experience too." He finished.

"I have." She agreed.

"I'm not going to punish you on several conditions."

"What are they?"

"For awhile, you'll tell me where you are at all times. You'll tell me when you're going out with your friends. I want you to shoot me a text when you're leaving, where you'll be, who you're with, how long you'll be gone, and shoot me another when you're coming home. You'll also text me when you leave for school and when you arrive to school, the same for when you're coming home; text me when school's over and as soon as you get home. This won't last forever but for now you do this. It doesn't mean you can't go out with your friends and go have fun but you must tell me where you are at all times. I'm giving you some freedom and treating you like an adult with this, so if you don't, if you forget to text or call me even once, then you will be punished and treated like a child again. Do you understand?"

"Ok."

"Next, you'll apologize to your sister and you and your mother will sit down and talk this all out."

"Ok."

"And for the next month you'll have extra chores around the house."

"Ok, though it all sounds a tad bit like a punishment. I agree to your terms and will do them."

"Good. I just want us to forgive and forget, in regards to everything."

"You and me both dad."

"Alright, now let's get you home." He stated and called his boss to tell him he needed the rest of the day off and explain why.

When Naomi's father was finally given permission to leave they headed off. They stopped for a bite to eat at lunch and Naomi's father called the police to let them know she had returned home and the news so they could inform viewers that there was no longer a reward on her and she was safe at home. While they ate their lunch Naomi looked at her father again, there was something on her mind that had been bugging her for awhile and she finally decided to ask.

"So dad…" She began while they ate.

"What?"

"When I was coming to your office… before… there was a woman… I thought I saw… It wasn't her was it?" She asked slowly.

Naomi's father paused before answering. He set his fork done and looked at her. "Yeah, it was her." He answered a bit relunctnatly.

"What was she doing here?" Naomi demanded.

"…She heard you ran away. I notified our old town and so she heard about it. She was worried about you.." He answered.

"She was worried about me?"

"Yes, and I didn't tell her anything, I didn't know anything. Even if I had some lead to give her, I wouldn't have."

"Well are you going to call her and tell her I'm safe now? Can I call her?" Naomi asked a bit hopefully.

"No."

"But dad-

"Naomi please, let's not do this. I don't want you to get hurt by that woman again."

"But dad, she was worried, that has to mean she cares right? What if she wants to see me?"

"Naomi…"

"Daddy, please… she's my mom…" She muttered quietly.

"No Naomi, she's not. I won't let her see you. I can't stand to watch her hurt you again and again."

"But-

"Naomi, she's not your mother. Mother's raise and take care of their children. She abandoned you as soon as you were born and only bothered to see you three times in your whole life Naomi."

"She calls… once a year…" She muttered quietly.

"Yes and each year I have to watch her make plans and promises to see you that she won't keep, I watch your hopes get up and see you get excited, then I have to watch her tear you down again, she gives an excuse and you're crushed. I can't stand to see that happen to you."

"I want a mother…. Is that too much to ask for…" She mumbled trying not to cry at old wounds.

She'd never be able to understand herself. She hated that woman for abandoning her and not loving her, yet she clung onto a small desire that one day she'd change her mind and want her back. She clung to the wish that somewhere a woman actually wanted to be her mother. Was it too much to ask for that she have one good mother figure in her life instead of two horrid ones? She'd always accept the fact that she'd never have a real mom and would resent her than she'd pop back into her life briefly and send Naomi's head spinning with hope. Only to have those hopes and wishes crushed before they could even form completely. Why did she always do it to herself?

"You won't contact her and you're not going to see her. Understand?" Her father cut in to her train of thought.

"I understand…" She muttered in acceptance.

They went back to eating in silence and afterwards they headed home. Naomi was tackled to the ground by her dogs the second she got into the house. She laughed a little and hugged them; she had missed them so much. When she finally got off the ground she was then yanked into someone's bone crushing hug.

"Hi Megumi…" Naomi muttered; finding it a little difficult to breath.

"Where have you been? Why did you run? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? I've been freaking out? Why would you do that? What were you thinking? Everyone was worried sick about you? Don't you ever do this again? I swear I've been hysterical." She rambled, bombarding Naomi with too many questions for her to answer.

"Megumi, give her a minute please." Naomi's father cut it.

"Can't breathe sis." Naomi added and Megumi let go of her.

"Well?" She demanded.

"Haruka and I got into a fight, things blew out of control, we got pissed, old shit got brought up, I said I had enough and left. I've been staying with Gaara. I know how worried everyone has been and I feel horrible for it. I wasn't thinking at all I was just show angry and I needed time to cool off. It's fine now though, and I'm not running away anymore so don't worry." Naomi answered in one quick breath.

Megumi only gave a slight pause when she noticed Naomi refer to their mother by her actual name. Apparently it was a bit more serious than either was letting on. "What did you two fight about then?"

"Does it matter? It's in the past now. I've gotten over it, I'll apologize, and we'll just move on with our lives." She answered and Megumi decided not to push it. The look in Naomi's eyes confirmed that it was best not to pester her for the details.

"I suppose it doesn't matter. You'll home now, that's all that does." She agreed. "But I'm going to kill that little redheaded shit! I asked him if he'd seen you and the little punk said no! I've been worried sick about you and the little twerp has been stashing you in his bedroom!" She exclaimed.

"Were you really staying in his bedroom?" Her father piped up with an overprotective glare.

"Of course not, they gave me the guest room." Naomi answered simply and decided to not mention she mostly slept in Gaara's bed anyway.

"So they were all in on it? Bunch of no good lousy..." Megumi continued to grumble.

"Oh Sasuke was in on it too, though not the entire time, just near the end of it." Naomi added.

"What? Oh that little shit is so dead! I don't care what Itachi says!" Naomi and her father both laughed at Megumi's antics.

It was later that evening that Naomi finally made her move. While waiting for her mom to return home she spent her time chatting with her father and sister, reassuring them that she was ok and it won't happen again. She also spent her time responding to a flood of text messages from her friends. She didn't give them any real details about why she ran or where she had been; just that she was home now and would see them tomorrow. Naruto was the most persistent with wanting to know details, but she stuck to her plan and didn't say anything to him either.

When Haruka was finally home she was more than surprised to see Naomi sitting in the living room with Megumi and her father. They stopped talking when they saw her and Megumi and their dad both quickly stood up and left the room to give them privacy. Haruka stared at Naomi, nervous and uneasy. Her unease was only increased by the eerie calm that was over Naomi. She just sat there silently and stared at her "mother".

"So you're home then?" She finally spoke, with a lack of anything better to say. All she wanted to know was if Naomi had spilt the beans or not.

"I didn't tell them." Naomi spoke, as if reading her mind.

"What?" She asked, a bit taken back, but relieved. She then wondered if she should be relieved or not by that news. Was she up to something?

"I didn't tell father or Megumi about your... overtime with your boss." She repeated. Naomi's voice was flat and cold. It held very little emotion in it as she kept up her icy calm.

"Really?"

"Yes, and I don't intend to either, unless you give me reason to break my silence." She stated, standing up calmly. "You see _mother_…" She began emphasizing the word mother with every drop of sarcasm and venom she had in her. "If I told them, obviously you would get what you deserve, but I would have to be the bearer of bad news and wreck the family again. It may be your knife, but I would be the one who stabbed dad and Megumi with it. So, I won't say anything. I will not be the one who ruins the family this time, you will be." She started to explain with a small glare added to her otherwise emotionless appearance. "In fact, you already have ruined it." She added.

"So what are you going to do?" Haruka asked confused, seeing Naomi like this worried her and bothered her. She had never seen the child act so cold, this was all her doing?

"Me? I'm going to do nothing." Naomi answered simply. "You're going to do everything. I'll continue to keep silent about the little incident and I'll pretend everything is fine and dandy between us. You are going to live with knowing that's a lie; you will live with knowing that no matter how much your_ real_ daughter Megumi wants us to be a proper family it will never happen because of what you have done to destroy it."

Haruka opened her mouth to respond but Naomi put her hand up. "I'm not finished yet." She cut in and remarkably Haruka let her continue. "I want you to hurt Haruka, live with the guilt of your actions and the grief of keeping on this pathetic façade of a happy family. Know every time Megumi happily talks about us moving on and starting fresh and about how happy she is that we've over come so much, it's all just a lie, another one of your fun little games of pretend. And dad? Every time he talks about how glad he is to start over and reconnect with you, every time he tells you he loves you- which is clear he does considering he's put up with you for this long, know that with each day of your unfaithfulness you dig that knife into his chest deeper and deeper. Each time you fuck your boss; remember how hurt you were when dad fucked my mother. Let this disease eat away at you until there is nothing left and you confess your sins not just to God, but to this family. Then deal with the sorrow of watching us all walk away and leave you in your shame. You threw away your family with what you did, how long can you pretend just to hold on to it?"

Naomi could tell her words were having some form of effect on the woman, her eyes gave way to the various emotions that flashed behind them. She turned away from Haruka and headed to the archway to leave the room. She stopped when she neared it though and turned back to look at her. "Oh, you don't have to worry about me and what I think while you grieve though." She started to add and Haruka looked over at her.

"From this point on, you're no longer my mother. You will never again mean anything to me. I once thought of you as a real mom, did you know that? I used to yearn for you to love me too like you did Megumi, I tried so hard as a child to please you. I knew, you couldn't truly hate me like you acted or you would have thrown me out long ago and there were those moments of compassion. Somewhere in that wicked heart of yours, you used to care and in some form love me too. That's gone now though, that part of me is dead, that small child side of me, which up until this incident still wanted to be accepted and loved by you is dead. You killed her. Understand that, from now on, you are trash, you're worthless, and mean absolutely nothing to me. That will never change now, no matter how hard you try to repent for your actions. You're dead to me." She concluded and walked out of the room without a single look back or another word.

Naomi knew she had done her job correctly, she started out with the threat, hanging the knowledge that she could talk at anytime over Haruka's head, she then followed that up by planting so many brain-bombs she knew she hit her mark. It was all a waiting game now; all that was left was to watch the woman crack, fall, and burn.

Haruka was stunned into silence by Naomi's words and cold demeanor. What had she done? She forced Naomi to freeze herself shut like that? She officially ruined Naomi just like she ruined everything else…


End file.
